Let's Talk! Gene Mundt, Chicago-area Mortgage Blog

  2017 - Safety Tips for Halloween Trick-or-Treaters & Family Pets Halloween and Trick-or-Treating is supposed to be lots of fun ... And scarrrrrryyyyyy!  Outlandish costumes.  Free candy.  Parties.  Trick-or-Treating with friends.   It's the perfect holiday for kids ... right? But danger and dan...

 Taekwondo Marilyn"Breaking Board"    While our son John (Marilyn's Dad) was out of town, I had the pleasure of standing in with our fierce little Marilyn during her TaeKwonDo Martial Arts testing over the weekend.   Pretty big responsibility for Grampa Gene ... and a bit nerve-wracking too.  She...

  Have Student Loan Debt? A Solution May Exist For You   I'm sure you've seen these headlines or others like them ...  "Debt-Locked: Student Loans Force Millennials to Delay Life Milestones"   "Yes, student debt is delaying homeownership" "Student Debt May Prevent Some Americans From Buying Homes...

 Fall Festivals, Pumpkin Farms, Corn Mazes, Hayrides - Will County 2017 The look of Fall has arrived in Will County and the rest of Chicagoland ...  There's a new crispness to the air.  The hours of sunlight are fewer.  The night temperatures are cooler. And of course, that means wonderful things...

 Don't Give a "One and Done" to the Equifax Breach By now, you've probably heard and seen multiple articles regarding the recent Equifax breach of security.  I myself have written and addressed this breach in an earlier post. You may believe you've seen and absorbed all the details and instructio...

The Equifax Security Breach: Assume the Worst Typically, making assumptions is not good.  In the case of the Equifax security breach discovered on July 29, 2017?  Just the opposite is true. Yep, you read that right ... ASSUME the worst and proactively take measures to protect yourself, your fina...

 Home Buying & Financing: Taking the Steps to Reap BIG Change Have you set yourself a goal of buying a home in the Chicagoland area?  If serious about buying, I'm betting you've tried to grow your savings, improve your credit standing, and raise your credit scores ... and chosen to work with a Mo...

 September 1, 2017 Sees Appraisal-Free Purchase Mortgages Become Available from Fannie and Freddie Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently come out with new directives and notifications relating to requirements on appraisals ...  What are those changes?As of September 1, 2017:  On transactions f...

 The Sandwich Generation Dilemma: "What Do You Do With All the Stuff?" Recently, there's been a flurry of articles and videos highlighting a dilemma many older Americans currently find themselves in ...What do they do with their stuff if they downsize? For members of the "Sandwich Generation", th...

 How to Spot, Avoid, Report a Credit Repair Scam  Don't Be a Victim! The airwaves are full of advertisements and infomercials aimed at consumers with credit issues ...  Some of these companies are legitimate.  But a fair number of them are fraudulent ... or just offering poor advice at a very cos...