Planning for retirement is a primary goal for all Americans – and for those in the 55+ age range, the notion of planning for the future is becoming a fast reality. Bob Mecca, author and principal at Robert A. Mecca & Associates, joins Alex Margulis, Mortgage Advisor with PERL Mortgage, in part three in a series of podcasts about retirement planning. Enjoy! For more podcasts, visit the PERL archives.

This is the original PERL Podcast logo from late 2008. We started the podcast at PERL’s main office on Belmont in Chicago, on the heels of a conversation I had with my brother in D.C. on the weekend of the Army Ten Miler. We were talking about the upcoming Federal bailout and the collapse of prominent Wall Street investment banks and he mentioned that the general population probably didn’t know, or really think they needed to know, something as simple as What The Fed Actually Does. So we started this ongoing series of interviews. Since its inception, the podcast has become a virtual hub for loan officers to partner with real estate agents, financial planners, appraisers and even closing agents from Chicago Title. It’s a lot of fun to host, mostly because I actually have to learn enough information about the Thing of the Moment to be able to talk about it. Chicago Agent magazine published this article about the podcast, and we’re glad to see it’s gaining some steam. To listen to episodes, visit perlmortgage.com.

Everyone’s focusing on first-time homebuyers these days — and for good reason — the $8,000 tax credit expires in a few months and most real estate agents attest that first-time homebuyers are in the housing market’s driver’s seat these days. On this episode of the podcast, I sat down with Matt Cochran at PERL and Regine Norgle at R. Hawthorne Group to talk about seller trends and what sellers are realistically expecting these days. For more podcasts, visit the PERL archives.

PERL Podcast 51 / Seller Trends

Last week, the Senate voted 70-30 to approve Ben Bernanke for another four years as Chair of the Federal Reserve. In this episode of the podcast, I interviewed PERL mortgage adviser Barry Schwartz about Ben Bernanke and his role as Fed Chair. Enjoy! For more podcasts, visit the PERL archives.

PERL Podcast 49 / Ben Bernanke

If you Google “Credit Repair,” you’ll probably find at least 20,500,000 results. Having worked in the financial industry for quite a while, one thing I’ve learned is that everyone has an opinion on how to fix your credit — and there are a lot of rumors out there that can sometimes get people into trouble if they’re faithfully following antiquated advice. I sat down with PERL mortgage adviser Barry Schwartz and we discussed the concept of credit repair and what clients can do to raise their scores. For more podcasts, visit the PERL archives.

PERL Podcast 48 / Credit Repair