Navigating Peak Real Estate Season with Dale Vermillion

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Movement provides residential home loans in all 50 states. Founded in 2008, amidst one of the biggest financial meltdowns in American history, Movement set forth on a mission to create a movement of change in their industry, in corporate cultures, and in communities. So that a portion of their profit creates a long term positive impact in communities, both close to home and around the globe through the Movement Foundation and Movement Schools. It all comes back to their mission to love and value people. Learn more at movement.com slash faith. dot org. Well, our guest Dale Vermillion is a great friend.

He's an expert on all things real estate and the author of Navigating the Mortgage Maze, the simple truth about financing your home. Dale, great to have you with us. Rob, always great to be with you.

Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Dale, spring and summer have long been considered peak seasons for buying and selling homes. Is that still the case here in 2025?

You know, it is. Seasonality isn't anything like it used to be. You know, it used to be in the wintertime we had very low numbers, but that's not the case anymore because so many people buy online nowadays. But it is still a peak season because I think the spring just brings people out to want to have new things and sell new places and move places. So there is lots of activity right now. Yeah. Also, they want to get in place before the next school year starts up, right?

That's exactly right. And we're seeing right now an interesting market. Listings are up over 700,000, which is the highest we've seen in a long time. That's 33% more homes than last year that are available. We're seeing a lot of new home sales out, 76,000 new home sales just in the last 30 days that are getting ready to close.

So that's good news. The bottom line is there is a great time to buy right now because there's more inventory, but there's less buyer competition because we're seeing a lot of people come out to sell or not seeing somebody come out to buy. So if you're looking to buy a home, this might well be the best time since 2021. Yeah, a buyer's market.

Interesting. Well, sales, of course, no longer come as effortlessly as they did in recent years. So how can sellers then rise above the noise, Dale, and stand out in today's market?

Yeah, a couple of things. You got a price right from day one. That's absolutely critical.

Now that's always hard to know what that number is going to be, but you can do an appraisal to know what your home's worth. You can look, of course, at listings to see what the market's doing. You want to get an experienced local agent that knows what they're doing that can help guide you through that process. We always recommend that. And make sure that you've got the home sale ready. That's key, particularly nowadays because so many people are going online.

They're doing those 360 views on camera. You want to make sure that everything is bright and light and clean and organized and you're getting rid of any excess things you need to have. Curb appeal on the outside, very, very important. You just need to make sure that you get the house ready for selling and make it look as good as it's ever looked.

Yeah, that's really helpful. All right, let's talk about the other side of the transactions. How do buyers prepare for this season? Well, first and foremost, what you need to understand about being a buyer is when you go to get quote-unquote pre-qualified, you don't want to get pre-qualified because a lot of times pre-qualification means that they're going to tell you what they believe you qualify for without verifying all of your information. You want to get what's called a pre-approval. This is something that's going to push you in a better position with both the sellers and with the agents.

A pre-approval is where you complete your entire application, you provide all of your income documentation, your credit and your verifications of all of your down payment money. And then remember, and this is always critical, we talk about this all the time, be budget-minded. Don't just ask them what do you qualify for. They're going to qualify you on a debt-to-income ratio. You may not be able to afford that payment. Do a budget.

Determine what you can afford comfortably. Make sure that you don't make an emotional decision. Make a logical decision and be in prayer. Take this to the Lord and make sure that you feel good about the decision.

That's great advice. Just about a minute left, Dale. Obviously, the question everybody's been waiting on, will this be the year mortgage rates drop, assuming they've been waiting for that.

What do you think? We don't expect to see a whole lot of change in the mortgage rates. Now, the Fed rate's going to go down because there's a lot of pressure there.

We expect already to see three drops this year. But remember, that affects more credit cards, short-term loans, auto loans, personal loans, those kind of things. What drives the mortgage market is the 10-year Treasury note, the bond market.

You've got to look at that. If you watch the trends there, you're going to see what rates are doing, and those won't change until inflation gets better. As inflation improves, rates will improve also. If rates aren't coming down anytime soon, this may be the time, if you're a buyer with more listings on the market, for you to go ahead. Just make sure you check that budget.

Only buy what you can afford and trust the Lord. Dale, we appreciate your time, my friend. Always great to be here. God bless, my friend. That's Dale Vermilion, author of Navigating the Mortgage Maze.

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SMI provides step-by-step guidance for do-it-yourself investors, from those just getting started to those getting ready for retirement. More information, including a short video webinar on profit and peace of mind, no matter what's happening in the market, is available at soundmindinvesting.org. Delighted to have you with us today on Faith and Finance. Looking forward to taking your calls and questions today. Whatever's going on in your financial life. Perhaps you're considering retirement, wanting to know what do I do with my investments, or maybe it's that spending plan, or how much to give and where. And as you wrestle through all of these questions, and they're good questions, we would love to come alongside you to provide some encouragement, some practical suggestions, and always rooted in biblical wisdom. So if you have a financial question today, the lines are open, you can call right now.

We'll begin diving into those here in just a moment. Call 800-525-7000. Any financial question today, again that number 800-525-7000, and we'll look forward to tackling whatever is on your mind today. Before we dive into those questions in the news today, paper checks are nearing their official end. That's right, last month President Trump signed an executive order requiring all federal agencies to transition to electronic payments by September 30. This means no more paper checks for Social Security, tax refunds, or other government disbursements.

The administration cited cost, fraud risk, and inefficiencies as key reasons. Agencies will now use direct deposit, digital wallets, and real-time transfers. So therefore, Americans have to set up digital payment methods, with few exceptions for the unbanked. Government payments to the Treasury like taxes, fines, and fees must also go digital as well.

The shift isn't surprising. A 2024 Go Banking Rates survey found that nearly half of Americans didn't write a check in 2023. Many retailers, including Target, have stopped accepting them. Though mobile apps like Venmo and Apple Pay dominate among young adults, some older and low-income Americans still rely on checks and are most vulnerable to fraud. While checks date back to the 11th century and peaked in popularity post-World War II, they've declined by 75% since the year 2000.

Experts say they may linger, but they still are becoming more and more rare. Obviously, you're going to see them for high-value payments like donations or some home purchases, but still the trend is clear. The checkbook's days are numbered. I don't know about you, whether you've written a check recently or not. I don't hardly ever write checks. I know of one check I write every year. My trash collection company, when they come to get the Christmas tree, I literally have to put a check in a Ziploc bag and tape it to the tree.

And that is how they get paid to pick up my Christmas tree each year. Other than that, I can't think of a check I've written in the last year, so I guess it's true. But perhaps you have a way that you still use checks. You can share that with us when you call today, taking your financial questions. Again, anything in play today, the number 800-525-7000.

Again, that number is 800-525-7000. Always a joy to be able to hear what's going on in your financial life and be able to encourage you in your role as a steward. We know that stewardship is about faithfulness to opportunity. So we've all been in trusted differing amounts.

The question is, what does it look like for us to be faithful moving forward from this point? Let's dive right in. Hi, Anne. Thanks for calling from Chicago. Go ahead. Hi. Thank you for taking my call.

Sure. I just recently retired, so I have a pension check. And I just received a check of like, I guess, the last amount that I should get with 20, like $20,000.

And I really don't know what to do with the $20,000 right now. I have a Roth. I have a little savings. I have annuity that I'll probably be able to get next year at 59. I have, I think I have two or three annuities.

So I, you know, the 501, what is the K? 401K. 401K, I'm sorry. And I haven't really taught, you know, to a financial planner to even know how, what my status is on that right now, being hearing things about the market, but I don't know what to do with my $20,000.

All right. Well, it's a good problem to have, better to have 20,000 you don't know what to do with and a bunch of bills you don't know how to pay for. So I think you're in a good spot there.

I would agree. I think a financial advisor is really a key next step for you. Because you're recently retired, you've got, it sounds like a number of retirement assets.

And, you know, you've spent your lifetime amassing this wealth, the last thing we want to do is just put it on autopilot. So I think connecting with a certified kingdom advisor there in Chicago could be a really great next step. You can do that on our website, faithfi.com, faithfi.com.

Click find a professional and I'd interview two or three to find the one that's the best fit. But let's get back to your original question. So what do we do with this 20,000? Is it taxable? I'm assuming it is.

Yes, they took money out of it already. Okay, got it. So you what you have left over is around 20? 21, exactly.

21. Okay, great. And do you have what I call an emergency fund?

Three to six months expenses and savings? Not really, no. Okay, I don't. So I think you do now. I think I have a Roth and I have a little in that.

Okay. And I think I can get to that. Yeah, yeah, I think the key is, though, with with retirement accounts, like a Roth or a 401k, you really want to keep them invested. I mean, you should have a, you know, a nice mix of stocks and bonds.

And, you know, you want to let that continue to grow for you. If at some point you needed to draw an income from any of those to supplement whatever other income sources you have, I think that's great. But in terms of you having a liquid account in a high yield savings that's ready and available for the unexpected. I would say you'd want at least six months worth of expenses. So if you're spending, you know, 4000 a month, I'm just throwing out a number, I have no idea, you know, you'd want 24,000. Well, that's just about, you know, what you have with this 21,000. So I would say if you don't have that emergency fund, I would say this is the beginning of that.

So what I would do is either connect with our friends at Christian Community Credit Union, you could go to join Christian community.com. Or if you want to just look for that online bank that has the very best interest rate across all the banks, secular and Christian, you could go to bankrate.com. But I think the key there would be it's not in your checking account. So it's removed from your kind of typical monthly operating account. So it's not as easy to get to to spend, but it's still liquid and secure. But it's also earning some interest. You know, so if you had $21,000, and let's say you get 4%, which is pretty typical right now, I mean, you'd have nearly $1,000 a year from now, on top of the 21,000. But the key is, it's there and it's available if the unexpected come. So you're not having to sell stocks in a Roth or a 401k.

And you're certainly not having to take on any debt to cover unexpected expenses. Does that make sense? That makes really good sense. Because I just thought of something. Thank you. Yes. Okay. Very good. Well, listen, all the best to you. And hey, stay on the line. I want to send you a book.

It's called An Uncommon Retirement. It's written by my friend Jeff Hanen. And it unpacks kind of how we should think as Christ followers about this next season of life as we head into retirement.

So you stay on the line. We'll get your information. We'll send that out as our gift to you. We appreciate your calling today. This is Faith and Finance. We still got a lot more to go.

Some great questions. I love when folks just want to be faithful. You know, we recognize the Lord has given us so much. He's given us, first of all, salvation when we place our trust in Jesus and surrender our lives to Him, accept the free gift of eternal life, and we're restored to a right relationship with Him. That's our abundance. And then beyond that, we have the promises of God that He'll never leave us or forsake us and that He'll provide for us. You know, it's not the government.

It's not your employer. It's God as our provider. Even the ability to create wealth comes from God Himself. And then we're entrusted with money, financial resources, which are a good gift from God, and we're to use those to serve the Lord, including through our generosity. But the key is to balance all that in light of scripture. We'll be right back with much more.

Stay with us. We're grateful for support from Timothy Plan. For more than 30 years, they've served clients on a biblically responsible journey to invest in a way that honors God and gives dignity to people's lives. More information is at timothyplan.com. The investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses are contained in the prospectus and summary prospectus available at timothyplan.com. Mutual funds distributed by Timothy Partners LTD and ETFs distributed by Foresight Fund Services LLC. Hey, thanks for joining us today on Faith and Finance.

I'm Rob West. I'm so glad you're here today. We're looking forward to diving into whatever's on your mind and your financial life today.

Hopefully it can be an encouragement to you together. Find God's heart as you make those very practical financial decisions and choices that you're facing today. The lines are open. We're ready for you. 800-525-7000. You can call right now.

Let's go to Oklahoma. You know, we started today by talking about the fact that the federal government is by September 30th going to eliminate all paper checks and go to electronic payments only. And we were asking the question, how many checks do we really write these days?

Joe, you've got an answer to that. Tell us about the checks you're writing. Just I write one check every Sunday to tie it to my church. And if it goes electronic, I just I don't know how I would track it. Yeah, well, no checks aren't going away. I think people are using them less and less. The government's getting rid of them.

But you still have the ability to write them. I'll tell you, you know, a little quick story on that. You may know the name Ron Blue runs one of my mentors. He's written 20 books on biblical finance.

He's joins us regularly on this program. He had moved to online gifts for his church, and really just felt like he was detached from it and detached from the giving. And he said, you know what, I'm going to change this. We're going to go back to paper checks. And here's how they do it. Now, Ron gets, you know, because he's written books, he gets royalty checks. And so he doesn't have a predictable amount of income, it changes week to week. So what he does is, on Sunday morning, he comes down to breakfast, he brings a three by five card with any income they've received during the week. He lays it on the table.

He and Judy pray over it, she writes out the check, they celebrate God's provision, and then they take that check to work or to work to church and give it to as their tithe. And you know, they've just found that that approach is more worshipful and more hands on, which perhaps is, you know, why you still enjoy writing a check at church, huh? Absolutely. Yes, it's just a connection for sure. Yeah, interesting.

Love it. Well, Joe, thanks for weighing in. If you're going to write a paper check, I can't think of a better reason to do that than for your your tithe. 800-525-7000 is the number to call. We've got lines open taking your financial questions today. By the way, if you want to share whether or not you write checks anymore, do that when you call. Let's go to Indiana.

Hi, Bill, go ahead. I just have a quick question as you get closer to as I'm getting closer to having my home paid for. You're aware I'm sure that you got a homestead credit and a mortgage credit for taxes, property taxes.

Is it better to keep a outstanding balance on your mortgage to keep that credit or just have deed in hand and pay the increased taxes? Yeah, no, I would not hang on to a mortgage specifically because of the deduction. I mean, first of all, there's a limited benefit to that, mainly because most people with the higher standard deduction, even with their mortgage interests, don't get above it. And that's why 90% of filers still take the standard deduction.

So there's questions about whether or not you're even getting any benefit at all. And that has to do with whether or not you itemize. But even if you do, let's say you're in a 22% bracket, I mean, you're only getting 22% of every deed.

22% of every dollar in savings. And so you're still, you know, at a net loss there. So I wouldn't pay interest purely for the deduction. And with the homestead exemption, you've got to own and occupy the home, but that doesn't mean you have to own it outright.

So there's not any benefit there to having deed in hand in terms of qualifying for that exemption. Does that make sense? Yes, it does. Thank you for your time. God bless you.

All right, and you as well. Hey, I love the idea of of you being debt free, Bill. That's awesome. And we appreciate your call today. We've been talking about whether or not we write checks anymore. And we got on to online versus check writing when it comes to giving a church guy. I know you have some thoughts on that there in Missouri.

Go ahead, sir. We years ago, we we helped lead some classes when Howard Dayton was doing the program. But in our studies, it's I don't know if it was in the actual material, but we kind of came to it as a group that whenever they were collecting offerings at church, I know some churches do it different. They actually have they've passed baskets and other other churches have drop boxes. But whenever we were talking about people actually deacons or whatever, collecting the offerings, it came a very personal thing for us whenever we would look at that offering bag and look at that hand that was holding it. We would almost look at that as like Jesus hand holding that out. And it became very personal for us as we gave into that basket that it was giving almost just like giving to Jesus himself. I know it's kind of a stretch, but that's kind of follows along. I think you were I missed a little bit.

I think you were talking about wrong blue and how it was personal. But I'd be curious, too, of how many I know you can't do this on the radio, but how many people over the age of, say, 65 or whatever still write a lot of checks? We do. But I know a lot of people don't. Well, it's a good point. And I think when it comes to giving, it is very personal.

And, you know, I think I know a lot of folks. I mean, we've moved to online giving and I think there is some element of it. It just kind of churns in the background. You almost forget about it. And there's, you know, this kind of worshipful experience of bringing the whole tithe to the storehouse kind of with you on Sunday that you miss, even though, you know, you could say, well, it's more efficient and so forth.

But I'm with you. I can totally see how you would want to do that kind of as a tangible expression of your worship in your giving. I think what we're seeing clearly is with the younger generation, they're just so accustomed to paying for everything electronically, whether it's Venmo or Cash App or, you know, Apple Pay. And, you know, that's how they do their giving.

They automate everything. And, you know, I think there's some question as to, yep, you gain a lot of efficiencies in that. Are we missing kind of an aspect of the worship when it comes to our giving? And I think that's something that each person just needs to wrestle through for themselves.

And I think you're right. There's still probably a good bit of check writing going on with, you know, those 65 and older. I think the first step was to migrate away from physically writing out your check to the bill pay through your bank where they mail the check for you. And now everything's moving just to these instant online payments. I know my wife and I are just constantly moving money around with kids and sports and school and paying parents back and teacher gifts and coaches.

It just seems like our Venmo is constantly churning. But I get it. I appreciate you weighing in. Thanks for listening and calling today, Guy.

God bless you. We covered a lot of ground today. You know, as I think about our role in managing God's money, there are an unlimited number of decisions we make every day around our finances. And yet we can boil them down.

We can simplify them into really just four big categories. The money we live on, the money we give, the money we owe and the money that we grow. But the big idea over it all is that God owns it all. And our goal is to be faithful stewards looking to God's word for counsel and wisdom to apply to our financial decision making. And when we do that, I believe it draws us closer to the heart of God.

It ultimately draws us into a more intimate relationship with him when we handle his money according to his ways. I hope you found something today helpful and encouraging. I want to say a big thanks to my team today. On behalf of Taylor and Pat and Devon, I'm Rob West. I hope you'll come back and join us next time for another edition of Faith and Finance. May the Lord bless you. Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you.