The Blue Button Broadcast

Hosted by Accunet Mortgage

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Episodes

305

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Welcome to the Blue Button Broadcast, powered by Accunet Mortgage. It is our mission to help you host the holidays at your new house. On this feed you'll hear from the Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show, the Accunet Ambassadors show highlighting special guests, and more. Accunet Mortgage is an equal housing lender. NMLS ID 255368. Ready to find out if you're ready to buy? Get started by clicking on the Blue Button at www.accunet.com!

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60 recent

June 16, 202626 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 6-16-26

The bond market has heard "the war is pretty much over" about thirty-seven times now, and honestly, it's stopped flinching. David Wickert and Tim Holdmann open the show by unpacking why headlines move the market less than they used to, and why homebuyers aren't sitting around waiting for a treaty to get signed.Then they dig into the June surge. School's out, summer's the busiest stretch in real estate, and the calls are pouring in: appraisal gap coverage, inspection contingencies, how fast we can deliver loan commitment. David shares a newly married couple, fresh off the honeymoon and stupendously qualified, and the conversation that matters more than the numbers — buying for who you're becoming, not just who you are today.Tim walks through a clean rental purchase using a DSCR loan, where anticipated rent does the heavy lifting, plus when asset depletion is the right tool to reach for. And David closes with the unromantic side of owning a home: an unmarried couple, two properties, and no legal mechanism to untangle it. The lesson? Get it in writing.

June 7, 202632 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 6-7-25

This week on the Accunet Mortgage and Realty Show, Brian and David Wickert break down a surprisingly strong May jobs report—roughly double the expected new jobs—and why good news for the economy spooked both the bond and stock markets. With the Fed funds futures markets now pricing in real odds of a rate increase by year-end, the guys put today’s mortgage rates in perspective: a 30-year fixed around 6.49% feels worse only because of the “recency effect.” Dial back a few years to when rates were 7.99% and today looks pretty good.Then it’s story time from the front lines of southeastern Wisconsin’s still-hot housing market. Brian shares a tale of a one-bath, one-car Brookfield home that drew 30 showings but zero opening offers—and what happened next. They dig into the rise of waived home inspections (one big brokerage reports 56% of accepted offers skip them), why sellers might actually want buyers to inspect, and some example CYA addendums protecting agents.Plus: a real client wins with an escalator clause and an appraisal waiver—and the reading-comprehension showdown over netting out buyer-agent commissions. The recurring lesson? Know how to read.

May 24, 202628 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 5-23-26

This week’s episode covers the surprising disconnect between mortgage rates and buyer motivation. David Wickert and Tim Holdmann open by noting that despite rates sitting near recent highs and only “whisperings of peace” in the Middle East, Accunet clients flooded their inboxes this week with accepted offers. The takeaway: people buy homes when they’re ready to, headlines be damned.The hosts dig into why closing speed matters more to sellers than buyers often realize, and they demystify “skipping” your first mortgage payment, explaining how interest paid in arrears can mean weeks before payments begin.Two real client stories anchor the episode. First, a retired client whose lake home burned down weighs a construction loan against a simpler cash-out second mortgage on his primary residence, a lesson in balancing fiscal optimization against real-life headache. Second, Tim recounts advising an 83-year-old client toward a competitor’s portfolio loan for a new-construction condo that couldn’t yet qualify for Fannie/Freddie financing. The throughline: character is who you are when you’re not doing the loan. Honest advice builds relationships that outlast any single transaction.

May 16, 202626 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 5-16-26

David Wickert and Tim Holdmann tackle the gap between scary rate headlines and what actually matters in real-life home buying. Friday’s bond market move pushed monthly payments on a $400K loan up just $56 — hardly the “rates skyrocket” doom the click-bait crowd was selling. For serious home shoppers, fewer competing offers is actually a silver lining.Tim shares the story of repeat clients expecting twins (going from man-to-man to zone defense) who closed despite the rate shift, plus an Illinois condo buyer using a strategic June 1 closing date as their competitive edge — sometimes speed and certainty beat dollars.David walks through a four-kid family wrestling with the timing puzzle of buying before selling, and the “softly breathing into the phone” moment when clients realize their 20% down payment plan depends on a sale that hasn’t happened yet.Plus: the trade-off conversation with a client choosing to make a $100,000 larger down payment to save $700/month — why wealthy people think in assets while everyone else thinks in monthly payments, and why your personal comfort level is always the right answer, even when the math suggests otherwise.

April 26, 202631 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 4-26-26

Brian Wickert and David Wickert break down a strong March in the Milwaukee metro housing market, with closed purchase units up 13.5% and fresh listings up 11%. They dig into why timing now matters more than price in a digital world where every qualified buyer sees a new listing within minutes of it hitting the market.Brian and David share three real client stories from the week: a Platteville first-time buyer who landed a home after the seller’s three-week-old listing went stale; a Wauwatosa buyer who came in strong with a no-appraisal-needed offer at 25% down but lost to a competitor who waived inspection; and a creative Waukesha County couple who mailed letters to homeowners and locked down a 100-day closing with $7,000 in seller concessions.David closes with a Duplex 101 segment covering 5% down conventional financing, FHA’s 3.5% down option for 2-4 unit properties, reserve requirements, and how appraiser-determined market rent (with a 25% haircut) can help you qualify even before a tenant moves in.

April 19, 202631 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 4-18-26

David Wickert and Tim Holdmann break down why rates are no longer the headline-grabber clients think they are. Life happens — twins on the way, a bigger yard, aging parents, a move to Florida — and the right house matters far more than chasing a perfect rate. As David and Tim put it: upgrade the mortgage later, but get the house now.The duo dig into the one-year lender-paid temporary rate buydown, explaining how front-loading your savings into the first twelve months of a mortgage often makes more sense than spreading it thin across thirty years you probably won’t keep the loan for anyway. They share real client stories, including a homeowner halfway through a buydown who now has the chance to reset the clock at no loan cost — cake, meet fork.Plus: a Wisconsin homeowner headed to Florida learns there’s a smoother way to fund the purchase than liquidating retirement accounts and triggering a tax bill. The answer was sitting in his Wisconsin equity the whole time.Mortgage consulting, Accunet-style: ask more questions, learn before prescribing, and always give clients choice.

April 11, 202640 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 4-11-26

On the April 10, 2026 edition of the Accunet Mortgage and Realty Show, Brian Wickert and David Wickert break down a week of real wins for homebuyers and refinancers alike. The duo explains how a ceasefire in the Middle East nudged rates lower — and how spring buyers came roaring back after what felt like a spring break lull.Brian walks through a refinance client whose credit score was torpedoed by an identity theft incident in Michigan, and how patience and persistence got her back above 800 and into a lender-paid temporary buydown that doubled her monthly savings with zero loan costs. David unpacks a creative second-home purchase involving a “twin-dominium,” a cash offer, no W-2 income, and an asset depletion program that turned a brokerage account into qualifying income.They also tackle a $100,000 low appraisal on a competitive purchase — including the reconsideration of value process, why a fresh appraisal with new eyes might be the move, and several creative alternatives to liquidating investments. Plus, Brian shares a for-sale-by-owner home inspection update and why a seller credit isn’t as simple as it sounds when a buyer is only putting 3% down. Details matter — and this episode proves it.

April 6, 202633 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 4-5-26

Brian Wickert and David Wickert break down a jobs report that looked strong on the surface but told a much more complicated story underneath — and why the bond market didn’t fully buy the headline number. They push back on media coverage that frames current mortgage rates as deal-breakers for home buyers, arguing that the real-world payment differences are far less dramatic than the headlines suggest.This week’s stories from the front lines include a first-time home buyer couple who landed a for-sale-by-owner property through a neighbor connection, locking in financing with just 3% down and exceptional credit. Brian and David also explore a creative strategy for buyers and sellers negotiating price without agents — using an appraisal-driven pricing range written into the purchase contract.David shares a client’s multi-year journey to win an accepted offer on a duplex, including the math behind what it actually costs per month to write a competitive offer. The conversation covers using projected rental income to qualify, occupancy requirements for multi-unit purchases, and why the story behind your loan matters as much as the numbers.

March 30, 202633 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 3-29-26

In this week’s episode of the Accunet Mortgage and Realty Podcast, Brian Wickert and Tim Holdmann dig into a buzzy CNBC headline claiming the Iran war could “crush” the US housing recovery — and explain why the reality is far less dramatic. They break down what rising energy costs and slightly higher mortgage rates actually mean for your monthly payment (spoiler: it’s about the cost of a tank of gas), and why serious home shoppers should view this moment as an opportunity, not a reason to wait.Tim walks through the lender-paid one-year temporary rate buydown — a powerful tool that lets buyers lock in a lower effective payment without paying thousands in upfront points, buying time for rates to settle back down. They also share Zillow’s latest home value forecasts for Wisconsin metro areas, with some markets projecting healthy appreciation and others leading the state.Finally, Tim shares a real-world case study of collaborating with a buyer’s agent to craft a competitive offer for an elderly client navigating a home sale contingency, condo purchase, and fixed income — proof that creative problem-solving beats a one-size-fits-all approach. If you’re buying, refinancing, or just watching the market, this episode is worth your time.

March 24, 202626 min

Accunet Mortgage & Realty Show 3-24-26

Brian Wickert breaks down what’s really happening with mortgage rates versus what some news outlets are reporting — including why a widely circulated Fannie Mae forecast is already outdated and misleading. He explains where rates actually stand today, what’s driving the recent uptick, and why sustained improvement back to late-February levels is unlikely in the near term. Brian also walks through the math on buying down your rate with points versus riding the market, and revisits the temporary buydown as a strategy worth considering in today’s environment.From there, Brian digs into Wisconsin’s dominance on Realtor.com’s latest hottest housing markets list — with seven of the top 20 spots claimed by Wisconsin metros. He shares real-world strategies for competing in this spring’s tight market, from appraisal gap coverage to leveraging Fannie Mae’s automated valuation waivers to strengthen your offer.Finally, Brian unpacks major new guidelines from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on homeowners insurance and condo lending — including a shift to actual cash value coverage for roofs, streamlined reviews for smaller condo projects, and a reserve requirement increase hitting in early 2027 that condo associations need to prepare for now.