waun@vacation-finance.com 248.722.WAUN
Bob has over 20 years experience in mortgage banking and real estate and is CEO/co-founder of Vacation Finance, America’s First Second-Home Lender.
He holds an Michigan real estate broker license, mortgage lending licenses in 10 states, a Master’s degree in finance/economics and Bachelor’s degree in finance from Walsh College. He has personally lent over $1 billion in residential loans, and overseen operations lending multiple billions in capital. He is a member of the founding board of directors of The National Association of Condo Hotel Owners (NACHO.us). Waun has served on The City of Birmingham’s Principal Shopping District Board since 2001. He is also a Chairman’s League member of The American Resort Developers Association (ARDA.org).
Waun authored “Besting: Better Nesting” www.BetterNesting.com a book about the shifting real estate markets, innovations in second homes and how the baby boom generation is propelling the rapid evolution. He authors the blog www.secondhomenews.com and writes columns for numerous industry and trade magazines, including Travel Girl, ARDA Developments, 2ndHome, The Scotsman Mortgage Guide and NACHO newsletters.
Waun has managed controlled business relationships for a national real estate brokerage and relocation lending services for a Fortune 50 company. He has an 20-year track record of cutting-edge innovation in the mortgage finance industry and is a frequent speaker at top industry conferences including: The National Association of Realtors (NAR), NACHO, ARDA, The Canadian Association of Resort Developers, The World Waterpark Association, Hotel Developers Conference, Meet the Money, and IMN Condo Hotel conferences. He has also been a panelist and guest speaker for numerous resort project launches around the USA.
During his career, Waun has worked for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Paramount Bank, Flower/Umbrella Bank and consulted for some of the leading lending industry companies through Gerson Lehrman Consulting Group.
Since 2002, Bob has worked with resort, condo hotel and fractional developers and lenders to improve the market for consumer financing. In 2005, Waun warned of the sub prime and ‘zero down’ mortgage threat and has predicted many of the changes in the U.S. mortgage real estate markets. He has been an advocate for responsible development and common-sense lending practices.
