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Monday, in the middle of a rain squall, I got into a very slow fender bender. Basically if I didn't point out the dent you wouldn't see it - still, the car wasn't drivable over 5mph - turns out I snapped a tie-rod end. Car is still in shop to be all spiffed up. I'm hoping to organize a rental today or tomorrow as my son is sick of mom driving his truck.
My refi also tanked. My experience of refi's has been checkered - mostly I get 9/10 through the process before some underwriter manager asks a dumb question like has my house ever moved??!?? wtf?
no
My house, contrary to popular belief does not have chicken legs under it. This is due to my house being of non-standard construction which causes the appraisers ten kinds of misery and confuses brokers. I'm rather used to this process but it is annoying - my last refi took me 8 months and 3 appraisals to get.
Still, it tanked less than a week to closing - bastards!!!
I may need to wait for further bank recovery before trying again - that will put more companies back in the business of writing loans - more competition and creativity - right now banks have plugs up butts.
Consider this - I've never been behind on a payment - I have a long owner history - STILL they are having cows - who do they think they want? I can imagine what someone who has missed payments is getting (the treatment) I saw in one show where a congresswoman was calling BoA on behalf of a constituent and 3 hours later reached a human - she was on hold 3 hours - even after the human she was cut off - again. Gimme a break - if you want the economy to work you have to allow people to do the stuff they do - like get banking business done.
Showing posts with label refinance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label refinance. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
the appraiser...
AKKKKK!!! He is coming on Sunday morning.
This means cleaning as well as finishing my grout and other small fixes. AKKKK!
Actually we have been waiting a week for him to be scheduled so that part is good, having to hurry up to finish my chores is also good, just tiring to even think about.
The dicey thing is my last appraisal was 4 years ago and it was great. Since then I added a deck, am completing the front porch improvement, put in hardwood floors in the back bedroom and hallway (soon to be whole house if refi is good) and painted several areas. I also installed two walk in closets and an outside door and second small deck. This moves my house officially from 2 to 4 bedrooms and even with the crap market should reflect as improvements in a positive way. I also have a partially completed non-conforming in my garage area which is a mystery as to how the appraiser will view it. It has a nice new french door and 1/2 is basically done (we are putting in a mini kitchen and full bath that are not yet done) I have a large garage at 1100 square feet and the nonconforming is taking about 230 of those feet with 10 foot ceilings :)
So, I'm nervous and yet pragmatic. My male housemate has trimmed all the shrubs up nice and they do look good. I hope to install a fountain and do some minor mulching as well as some minor painting and touch ups. The grout is my biggest thing because it makes the front look finished and well taken care of. We are also looking to place a large pot on the porch with greens and flowers because you only make a good impression once. :)
These are two photos of my deck during the summer (we remove the awnings during the winter) The decking is impervious or non-wood/non-rot.
I am hoping for GOOD numbers.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
refinancing...
Some of you know that I'm currently grouting my front porch. Although it is looking nifty and part of the reason I'm working on it is to improve the appearance of my house, that really isn't the story.
I'm refinancing. I am a single woman and I've been blessed with my own home for most of my adult life but it isn't without struggle. I see the economic downturn and so many people trying to figure things out and I know what they are experiencing. About a decade ago my then boyfriend told my mother that I would have to get a job. He was rather gleeful about it because on some level he wanted to not HAVE to work. I had developed a frugal lifestyle that allowed me to just scrape by with almost nothing left (even for clothing) I moved away from the mainstream equation where success is measured in terms of what you are currently buying. For me, success was in having the time to pursue my dream of writing. So, I am not a consumer in the general sense of the word. I didn't buy anyone a Christmas present this year. I also didn't expect any. Buying a new pair of athletic shoes is a big deal for me because I wear them off my feet. I do have a weakness for home improvement and when I have extra cash I am most likely buying flooring or paint or trim or tools.
I also splurge on groceries - I try to buy quality foods so that my health is the best I can manage. Yes, I have health care but I detest doctors so this is my compromise. However, back to my last boyfriend. He is a really good man but he found it hard to live with me precisely because of my failure to consume. When we first met I paid off his debts and although he liked it, he had trouble dealing with it. He was coming from a position of being 'in the hole' emotionally and once no longer there, he had trouble dealing with himself but that is another story.
What I wanted to talk about was the problems I faced when I went back to a one person household. Because we had been in a relationship a long time I had purchased a larger house and once again had a mortgage - this one now exceeded my passive income. When I say my boyfriend was gleeful - it is the simple truth. However, because he wanted other things we had also purchased and held title to, he agreed to continue to help pay over a 3 year period and he got those items clear (a good deal) - this gave me time to adjust my income.
It may sound silly but I went to a manifestation group. The mantra behind the group was to intentionally position a desire in the cosmos. My mantra was simply, "I am open to receiving abundance" - I didn't want to be totally specific - really, I wanted to open myself to possible solutions to my problem - I didn't want to HAVE to go to work and give up my time for writing.
As I mentioned, at that point I was living in a 4 bedroom house - by myself. Silly. But, until that point I had bought into the 'needing independence' concept of every family a separate house. I facilitated some workshops and did some lecturing to bring in a little income and continued to ghost write for psychologists but it was very piece meal and I felt uneasy.
So, I confronted my need for my OWN home. I began taking in housemates. This was an adventure and let me assure you that my learning curve was substantial. But, I had several things going for me - high housing costs in my area and a large home (2500 sq ft) My bedroom sizes are decent and I have amenities as well (like a hottub) As I learned ABOUT people I discovered that my master suite was actually fairly large - I could manage my privacy in there. I also discovered that I needed to impose my standard of living (no clutter) on the common spaces and use my furniture. This became much easier both on me and on my housemates. This is a home and it is organized that way - for everyone - there is room to sprawl, to share or to be private.
As I discovered I could live with people around me I came to enjoy it. My house is always busy yet it is like a big family. I am picky about housemates and two of mine have lived here more than 7 years now. My point is that solving my financial problems required some creativity.
I work a little bit - a few years ago I went back to school full-time and now I'm a Junior at Berkeley. Every few years I try to refinance if interest rates go down. Right now they are very cheap so I am trying to save myself $700 per month just by refinancing. I am still frugal. I am repairing my porch because I had a water problem that rotted out a section and then the steps settled and to join the two pieces together I needed one material (slate) -
The thing is - our solutions depend on creativity too. We can't afford to have 3 empty bedrooms in our homes and think nothing of it. I have been so very lucky and I know that, but I also work hard at buying nothing extra. I can't afford it and my dreams too.
I'm refinancing. I am a single woman and I've been blessed with my own home for most of my adult life but it isn't without struggle. I see the economic downturn and so many people trying to figure things out and I know what they are experiencing. About a decade ago my then boyfriend told my mother that I would have to get a job. He was rather gleeful about it because on some level he wanted to not HAVE to work. I had developed a frugal lifestyle that allowed me to just scrape by with almost nothing left (even for clothing) I moved away from the mainstream equation where success is measured in terms of what you are currently buying. For me, success was in having the time to pursue my dream of writing. So, I am not a consumer in the general sense of the word. I didn't buy anyone a Christmas present this year. I also didn't expect any. Buying a new pair of athletic shoes is a big deal for me because I wear them off my feet. I do have a weakness for home improvement and when I have extra cash I am most likely buying flooring or paint or trim or tools.
I also splurge on groceries - I try to buy quality foods so that my health is the best I can manage. Yes, I have health care but I detest doctors so this is my compromise. However, back to my last boyfriend. He is a really good man but he found it hard to live with me precisely because of my failure to consume. When we first met I paid off his debts and although he liked it, he had trouble dealing with it. He was coming from a position of being 'in the hole' emotionally and once no longer there, he had trouble dealing with himself but that is another story.
What I wanted to talk about was the problems I faced when I went back to a one person household. Because we had been in a relationship a long time I had purchased a larger house and once again had a mortgage - this one now exceeded my passive income. When I say my boyfriend was gleeful - it is the simple truth. However, because he wanted other things we had also purchased and held title to, he agreed to continue to help pay over a 3 year period and he got those items clear (a good deal) - this gave me time to adjust my income.
It may sound silly but I went to a manifestation group. The mantra behind the group was to intentionally position a desire in the cosmos. My mantra was simply, "I am open to receiving abundance" - I didn't want to be totally specific - really, I wanted to open myself to possible solutions to my problem - I didn't want to HAVE to go to work and give up my time for writing.
As I mentioned, at that point I was living in a 4 bedroom house - by myself. Silly. But, until that point I had bought into the 'needing independence' concept of every family a separate house. I facilitated some workshops and did some lecturing to bring in a little income and continued to ghost write for psychologists but it was very piece meal and I felt uneasy.
So, I confronted my need for my OWN home. I began taking in housemates. This was an adventure and let me assure you that my learning curve was substantial. But, I had several things going for me - high housing costs in my area and a large home (2500 sq ft) My bedroom sizes are decent and I have amenities as well (like a hottub) As I learned ABOUT people I discovered that my master suite was actually fairly large - I could manage my privacy in there. I also discovered that I needed to impose my standard of living (no clutter) on the common spaces and use my furniture. This became much easier both on me and on my housemates. This is a home and it is organized that way - for everyone - there is room to sprawl, to share or to be private.
As I discovered I could live with people around me I came to enjoy it. My house is always busy yet it is like a big family. I am picky about housemates and two of mine have lived here more than 7 years now. My point is that solving my financial problems required some creativity.
I work a little bit - a few years ago I went back to school full-time and now I'm a Junior at Berkeley. Every few years I try to refinance if interest rates go down. Right now they are very cheap so I am trying to save myself $700 per month just by refinancing. I am still frugal. I am repairing my porch because I had a water problem that rotted out a section and then the steps settled and to join the two pieces together I needed one material (slate) -
The thing is - our solutions depend on creativity too. We can't afford to have 3 empty bedrooms in our homes and think nothing of it. I have been so very lucky and I know that, but I also work hard at buying nothing extra. I can't afford it and my dreams too.
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