Hard Money Lenders
...and sent off an email to one of them who lends in my area. Wow that took up 10 minutes of my time!!
It was just one of those frustrating, I have no idea what to do now, moments that I'm sure will hit me many more times. I just don't like that feeling of wasting time.
So I fiddled with my webpages a little bit and played with my dog.
But of course now that I'm writing this blog entry I think of the perfect way I could have spent that time...Looking over my short and long term goals. Well I'll keep that in mind for the next time I get lost in what to do.
Random Things
I bought the book Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.
I just notified my mortgage broker to go ahead and send in the paper work for my personal refinance. Then I got this explanation (here) that changed my mind. The main reason is I didn't think about
- The already lost money from my original loan's closing costs.
- Restarting the term all over again.
- Losing of 4000 in equity because we were rolling the closing costs into the new loan.
I also just didn't want to get stuck living in my current condo longer then I want to because I had to justify refinancing. That just seems ass-backwords. Am I off base in thinking this? ahh, I keep going back and forth. I've got the rate locked in so I'm just gonna take the weekend to think about it and discuss it. if anyone has any opinions drop me a comment please.
Thanks
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1241808960000#c6374841094056246547'> May 8, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Hey Scott, I've also been thinking about whether to refinance. I'm thinking that if we DO refinance, we'd still keep making the same payments which will help pay down the principal faster. Next time we buy a home we're going to do a 15 year fixed interest rate mortgage...that will be a huge improvement.
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1241811660000#c7453652797543176547'> May 8, 2009 at 12:41 PM
I thought about paying the same amount even after a refi, but if we aren't planning to stay in the property more then 5 years is it worth it?
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1241812260000#c3459540127211779579'> May 8, 2009 at 12:51 PM
That's a fair point and the answer is likely "it depends"... I'm in South Florida where the prices on homes are still dropping pretty dramatically so I don't want to get in a situation where I'm upside down when its time to sell. At first we thought maybe we'd want to keep it and rent it out when we move but dang it if those condo fees get out of control we're in trouble! :-) So far the board has done a good job managing and keeping costs down, but you never know and I have plenty of friends who have been stuck with huge condo fee increases and community wide assessments on a yearly basis. We enjoy your condo...its beautiful and all...but NO MORE CONDOS FOR US after this! LOL!
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1241812320000#c1103566955737406214'> May 8, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Sorry...I meant...we enjoy OUR condo! Although I'm sure I'd enjoy yours too ;-)
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1242007260000#c8179502745831163791'> May 10, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Hey Scott!
I was just perusing my Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Workbook to get his take on refinancing, and here's his formula:
Your total closing costs divided by savings = number of months to break even. If you plan on staying in your current home longer than the number of months to break even, you are a candidate for a refinance.
Good luck with your decision!
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1242066540000#c5510147804794000673'> May 11, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Thanks Ingrid. After studying the numbers this weekend I came to the same conclusion. I appreciate you looking into it for me!
https://sjcostello.blogspot.com/2009/05/night-off.html?showComment=1242066840000#c2052771711267101083'> May 11, 2009 at 11:34 AM
I love the simple formula (I was just looking at the Total Money Makeover book on Saturday)...the tricky part is determining whether you will be in your home for more than the break even # of months. My last home I expected to stay in for 3 years, but ended up there for 6! The best laid plans.....