Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Just a note for the OP.

Mortage Insurance is tax deductible, but it has some pretty low income requirements.

"families with adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 were able to deduct 100 percent of their mortgage insurance premiums while families with incomes up to $109,000 were eligible for a partial deduction." (And by partial, it drops pretty dramatically between 100 and 109k).

I believe this is currently in effect until 2010 (which likely will be extended again, but could very well be terminated by the gov't).

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Don Wrigley posted:

PS, I know firsthand, this is the worst. When TurboTax tells me that I'm too rich to deduct some type of interest, I die a little inside :(

No PMI for me, but just in general. Keep this in mind if you're "rich" like me.

I hear you.. We make just over 110/y but also live in an area where taxes are higher, house prices higher, and thus PMI is a larger chunk.. Even though our family makes 6 figures, we're not exactly going out and buying flat screen TVs.. Between student loans, the house, etc, we live comfortably, but not in excess.


deducting that would have really helped out.


I have a general PMI question.. Can you reappraise your house after sale and have the PMI dropped if you exceed the 20% due to increased equity? Im in the process of building right now, and in the past few months, the builder raised prices 10k and fixed a price of 15k on the properties to the left and right of me.. So at closing, my house is already 25k more then what I am buying it for.. If I were to appraise it for the price the neighbors get, could that extra 25k equity go into the PMI calculation so i'd be that much closer to getting rid of it? What about if the appraisal for some reason comes back lower, could that hurt?

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 18:26 on May 6, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Don Wrigley posted:

Get ready for when you get older and can't deduct your kid's college tuition because you're too rich. That's the real heartbreaker.

Already expecting that.. Hell, when I started college, I was on my own and my father lost his job a year or 2 prior.. I got rejected for Financial Aid because "your father used to have a good job"..

Gee thanks gov't.

Should have checked off Native American on my application.... Hey, I WAS born here.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

stash posted:

So my question is: Is there any real advantage for me to struggle to come up with 20% for a conventional loan, if I can get a lower rate with a lower downpayment on a FHA loan? If I can afford 15% down, is it worthwhile to wait until I can afford 20% down and get a conventional loan instead?

I'm not 100% an expert on this, but when I had a choice between the FHA and the Conventional, I stuck with the conventional for a few reasons..

1) That up front mortgage insurance fee of 1.5% house cost is totally down-the-drain money.
2) Rates are actually higher for FHA vs. Conventional at the highest credit score. But since your score is lower, that might not apply to you.
3) You carry the .5% annual insurance cost for the entire life of the loan, it does not terminate when you reach 20% down like PMI would.

I believe there are also some other restrictions regarding selling the house later, things that must be done before closing, but I'm not 100% on any of those.

In the end, since my credit is over 770, we opted for the conventional because the penalties are easier to get rid of.


Also, you don't need 20% for the conventional.. We were originally doing 5% and carrying PMI, but we're likely putting 10 by the time the house is closed. Its easy to get rid of the PMI once we pay 20% value on home, then its smooth sailing.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

stash posted:

:words:

Oh definitely, in our case we were the highest credit range, so the conventional would be much less expensive in the long run, but if you have a higher rate on conventional, then odds are FHA might be the better choice.

Either way you look at it, remember, your first 5-7 years or so of payments on the amortized schedule will pretty much be interest only, so unless you throw several thousand extra dollars at the principal each year, it will take longer to get rid of any Mortgage Insurances you may carry.

Again, your situation seems easier, especially if you do 15% down, 5% on 100k isn't that unrealistic to throw down in extra cash.

Honestly, sounds like FHA might be the way to go for you.


Just look into any extra restrictions.. I don't know them off hand, but I believe there are some further gotchas, like requirements on the house itself (extra inspections, stricter limitations, etc). I could be wrong though since my FHA research was fairly minimal since the conventional was a better option for us.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

stash posted:

This was my plan - Pay an extra $100-200 every month towards the principal (I am already doing this in saving for the downpayment) and an occasional larger payment, maybe once a year. Hell, if I put half of the $8k tax credit toward the principal that would pretty much do it. I don't have any other higher-interest debt to worry about at this point.

Just make drat sure whatever mortgage you DO have, doesn't have any prepayment penalties associated with it.. Some bad mortgages actually charge you a fine if you pay down before the term of the loan is over.. Though this is very rare and will likely only occur with a shady loan company.

Barry posted:

I just did a little googling about what happens when you pay more to a mortgage (short answer: pays off earlier, doesn't change monthly payment) and came across this article on MSN Money, which is a really good general "do this with your money" read:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomeFinancing/DontRushToPayOffThatMortgage.aspx

I'd also agree with this analyst about not paying down too soon, but in the case of PMI, pay that loving thing down as soon as possible to at least get rid of the insurance which is totally lost money (And in my case not even tax deductible).

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 18:34 on May 7, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Barry posted:

Based upon my (incredibly rudimentary) knowledge of how PMI is calculated, that seems about double what it should be. Might be some extenuating circumstance I don't know about.
PMI is actually quite simple.. Its calculated in brackets based on the total mortgage. Note, I'm not financial expert, but this is how it was explained to me and taken from PMI tables elsewhere.

<Inclusive> - <Exclusive>
0-5% down = .90%
5%-10% down = .78%
10%-15% down = .52%
15-20% down = .32%
Note, you don't get any better value putting 6% or 7%.. Its a full 5 to get the next jump in the bracket.

So, on a 400k mortgage at:
0% down = $300/m
5% down = $260/m
10% down = $173/m
15% down = $106/m
20% down = No PMI.

Probably a good idea to get in writing how they are calculating your PMI.. They may be fluffing the charge and pocketing the difference. As we have seen, banks aren't always up front or honest.


FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 03:31 on May 8, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Todd Flanders posted:

Is there any easy way to research this information?

I'm considering a condo since it is more appealing than a house for various reasons. Or is that rookie mistake #1?

Every HOA is different.. You need to look into the place you are considering living and get the HOA contract to really nail it down..

Im building a house in a new development and we have an HOA, but the one in our development is extremely lax and the HOA is only there to maintain the water retention basins and community property like the entranceways and signs. For me, it will be <$8/m.. The contract for the HOA was like 70 legal pages long to pretty much just say they will cut grass..

Other HOAs (like the one where my parents live) are horribly intrusive.. They control what type of mailbox you can have, whether you can build a porch, shed, etc.. Major changes to house, and cost a ton more..

Again, it varies per house/development/condo what kind of HOA you get.. Avoid any that control your property because gently caress it if someone besides the township has any control over what you can/can't do with your property.


Moral of the story, make drat sure you understand the ins and outs of any HOA where you plan to live.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Plus, keep in mind not all areas have had many drops at all.. The place where I'm buying in NJ has hardly fallen at all, and in fact our builder just raised prices 10k after he sold out the new section of the development in 2 weeks. Then again, things were never ridiculous down here to begin with, so maybe that has something to do with it. It is funny thought hat half the development that was finished before the recession hit is paying almost 2x the taxes then the rest of us.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Personally, it sounds like you aren't in a stable enough situation to warrant a home purchase. The two big things that flagged me in your post were that 1) You don't really even like it down there, and 2) You don't think you have more then 5 years there.

Not sure why you would want to buy something permanent in a place you don't want to live, especially a place where you only for-see yourself for 5 years... sounds like an ideal rent position to me. Lets just say that home prices level off down there for a few years.. Since nobody can predict the housing market down the road, its almost silly to assume "well, there's a boom now so houses should go up quite a bit!!"

Not even assuming the worst, lets say that the market stays stale for those 5 years and your home price stays the same (hell it can even go DOWN).. You just paid 5 years of mostly interest on a house, then may even have a hard time selling for what you bought it for..


I personally would only buy a home if I had intention of spending the rest of my life in that location..

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

mlmp08 posted:

Is it totally stupid for me to rationalize not being there for 5 years based on planning to rent the house out and sell it later?

Having Fort Bliss right there means there will always be transient families moving in and out who will rent. Of course, maybe they have the right idea, and I'm being stupid.

Well no, if you do plan to rent it out and sell it it might not be too bad, at least you have a plan, but keep in mind being a landlord is not as simple as owning a property and saying "ok you can rent". You'll have to keep the place in working order, repair anything that is wrong with it, deal with tenants trashing the place, and all of that is very difficult to do if you live far away from the rental unit. Then, if you buy a house of your own somewhere else, now you have 2 mortgages (one of which relies on tenants which might not ALWAYS be available).

Again, its all my opinion. If you think you want to do it anyway, go for it.. A house is awesome to own, but they are very costly. As long as you can deal with losing alot of money you can walk away 5 years later just fine.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

necrobobsledder posted:

The risk of all this varies from property to property. I'm about 2500 miles from my property and have a property manager, but the tenants had better records than me and the area is pretty affluent, so the risk of such renters is very low.

I agree with you, but I imagine the original idea the poster had regarding renting-out the property was seen with rose-colored glasses in a best-case scenario where the renters are perfect, nothing breaks, and he gets near *free* mortgage money..

If looking at the best-case scenario, everyone should also consider the worst case as well.

When it comes to mortgages and homes, its always better to prepare and expect the worst then take a chance and risk financial ruin. I bet everyone in foreclosure now didn't expect the economy to come tumbling down around them.

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 17:53 on May 17, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
I'm at that point in our building schedule when I need to seriously sit down and find homeowners insurance. Any advise on what to look for? I absolutely loathe insurance companies and can get lost in paperwork (that I understand little of) for hours.

What are typical coverages people should get (I'm in NJ, so flood or disaster isn't really necessary)..

Also, every time I want to compare companies, they practically want a full application in order to give a quote.. I've avoided filling any of these out because of fear of dings on credit report before the final closing of my mortgage. Will these rate quotes affect my credit?

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Arzakon posted:

No way. The payment of just the principal and interest on 250K @ 5.00% will be $1340, plus taxes, insurance, and PMI will be looking to be over 50% of your take home pay. Your 13K is not a significant down payment and money in your 401k shouldn't even be a consideration.

Agreed.. With those numbers at 5.35% and based on the taxes in my area (rural south NJ) 2.55% and an estimated homeowners insurance policy of 500/y you are looking at close to $2100/m in payments before utilities and extras

Thats a lot to chew for a single person. What about if you lose your job!


And yes, don't even consider tapping that 401(k) for a house.

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 18:13 on May 28, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

moana posted:

the BofA lady said that the banks all use the same process so it's good enough to get preapproval from one of them.

Pretty much this.. Once you get approved by one bank, its a pretty good sign you can get a loan from any bank, so generally, just go to any local bank to get the approval. As stated, make sure its an actual approval and not a qualification. Then, after you are pre-approved and find a house you like, you can either stick with them or go mortgage shopping with the confidence that at the very least you have one lender that already agreed.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

dreesemonkey posted:

Estimated mortgage w/ taxes and PMI for a 30 fixed at 5.5% (guess): $1100

Your estimate on $1100/m is pretty drat close. Don't forget to factor in the extra costs so you don't get blinded by the "$1100/m is better then my rent!" stereotype.

higher utilities (or additional utilities if your apartment covered things like water before)
repairs
homeowners insurance
escrow deposits

it can all add up to scary monthly payments if not careful.


Sounds like a pretty good deal if its what you are looking for.

dreesemonkey posted:

Estimated down payment: $7-10k, depending on how much we'd be expected for closing costs.

If you are going to do a down payment that requires PMI, keep in mind that it goes in brackets, so doing 5% down and 7% down, hell even 9.999% down is all going to be the same bracket.. When you cross the 10% threshold, then it reduces, is if the decision is 7%-10%, make it 5% or 10%, but not inbetween.

dreesemonkey posted:

Yes, I know we should be paying off the higher interest loan first, but the variable interest rate loan is co-signed by her father, and that's why we're doing that.

Once this house thing is decided and/or over, consider consolidating that 4.5 variable.. That should remove the cosigner requirement (if you expect to get a mortgage, then there's no reason you can't drop the cosigner) as well as let you lock in a lower fixed rate.. Especially if that is a federal direct loan (those are due to drop yet again this July 1)

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Jun 3, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Thanks for the link! I just bought it sucker :smug:


Man I wish I had extra cash just to throw around to screw people...

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

dreesemonkey posted:

Otherwise it would be like getting an FHA loan and then re-financing to a conventional down the road a bit, which I would probably be fine with.

Just keep in mind refinancing sometimes costs almost as much as the original closing. You really only want to do this if the amount you save over 30 years will outweigh the cost of the refi., assuming you DO stay in the house 30 years.

While you like the house you've seen so far, don't settle. You seem to have alot of cons listed there. Even if it takes a few months to find a house, just stick it out.

Furthermore, don't listen to any seller contingencies such as "I can sit on this for a while". Nobody wants to sit around paying dual mortgages for an extended period of time.. Sounds like just another seller's line to avoid lower offers. After 8 viewings and no offers, they should be considering a drop.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

dreesemonkey posted:

Like I said before we weren't really looking for a house, and if we don't get serious about this one I will happily go back to renting and paying off the student loans aggressively (and I'll probably be able to sleep again, hah). What's keeping us around is that it's exactly what we're looking for, it just needs 5 years of night/weekend projects to be pretty ;)

Student loans are considered good debt on your record.. Most of the time they carry good rates as well so you're better off saving money for a much larger down payment then trying to pay them down faster. Especially if you are in the 5% down bracket right now.. If you have the option to save heavily for a year or 2 and hit that 20% mark, you'll save a fortune in PMI or FHA penalties.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Get into DIY.. The real shockers come when you realize how insanely marked up everything is from a professional.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Figures.. I'm 2 weeks away from my lock-in period and US 30 year fixed rates shot up almost a full %.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Call me weird, but I've been looking forward to manual labor for some time. As a guy who used to be very handy before college, the last 8 years or so have been pretty hard.

My house will be finished in mid-August and Im looking forward to finishing it off and actually getting back outside doing some yard work for a change. I personally would to nuts in a condo-like situation.



On a side note, still 12 days out from my loving lock watching T-Bill rates increase at a record breaking rate. C'mod fed, step in or we'll lose the housing market thats just starting to catch on.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

MrMidnight posted:

I'm locking in my rate today. I don't see these dropping anytime before the end of the month at least. I rather still get a decent 5.5% before it jumps to 6%

I would as well but I don't get in 60-day range for 12 days yet. Anything beyond 60 is considered a long term lock and the rates are automatically .25% or more higher. So I need to stick it out..

After I lock, I have a credit for one float-down, so if rates do drop back down I can at least re-lock once.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
This was the first negative thing I can say about building a house vs. buying one.. Back when we started building and down payment was made, rates were in the Mid 4s.. You don't actually get the current rate until actual closing lock.

Gah..

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Typically 740+ is the best rate bracket, so with her being slightly under, it may drag you both down one notch, but not much.

The TBill has held constant the past few days and seems like the current going rate for 30-fixed is about 5.51%. This is all also completely based on how long your lock-in period is, etc.

And yes, I know the feeling about worrying about it. After watching the bonds market shoot up, and then checking it every 30 minutes because I'm paranoid, I just want it the hell over with. 12 days can't come fast enough.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

dreesemonkey posted:

The seller would get a slight break on their fees by going with someone through their agency vs. another realtor.

Does it work that way? I always assumed that the sale fees were split between the buyers and sellers agents.. In the event that agent was both, he/she would simply keep both halves.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Yes, those are the obvious things.

Check for odd smells, mold, etc.

"Designed to sell" features like cheap laminate, anything that may have been added recently (and cheaply) to make the house sell but will likely fall apart in a year.

Does the roof look old? How many layers of shingles are on the roof (generally you can get 2 before they all need to be stripped, so often times when the re-roof the first time, its just a cover-up job).

Age of appliances, especailly things like the water heater.

what you really want to be cautious of is buying a house that then needs thousands of extra dollars in replacements in the next year.
Also keep in mind interest rates are all screwy right now, so at the moment count on a LEAST a 5.5% 30 year


And yes, you want to catch these things before the house inspection as you pay for that yourself out of pocket.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

MrMidnight posted:

The thing that's really stressing me out about the home buying process is the shear amount of information that these lenders require from you. Every single day its another statement, another form and what have you.

This, added with the fact that I travel a lot for my work, requires me to scan and email a bunch of these things. I'm wondering just how safe and protected all this information really is.

God, I just want this poo poo over with. Looking for the house was fun, this whole loan poo poo is a pain in the rear end.

Most statements don't have full account numbers on them, so they should be relatively safe. Its true though, they require ALOT of paperwork, much more then they used to..

When I updated my mortgage application to include my graduate degree, they actually wanted a copy of my grad school transcripts as proof.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

dreesemonkey posted:

Fidget, are you going to be like :suicide: today at 2? Bernaki is giving another "yay economy pep talk". We just met with another lender and she said it's going up today for sure :( Again.

Pretty much. Earlier today the US tried to auction more 10-year bonds in which the auction went pretty lovely, so that means fears of inflation may drive the bond up even higher..

We may actually see 6% mortgages in the coming weeks if the fed doesn't step in and artificially lower it again.

Already at 5.5% mortgage applications have dropped dramatically and the same for refis. Any lower and the housing market may crash again, so they better step it up asap.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Don't let the 8k stimulus trick you into buying a house like it seems to be for so many other people.

Right now prices may be low, but they aren't going to skyrocket anytime soon. Furthermore, if you heard my bitching earlier in the thread, interest rates shot up almost a full 1% in the last 2 weeks which may actually hurt the housing market yet again.

Do not take a loan for a down payment. I can't believe any mortgage banker would even allow that.

You also mentioned some "stupid poo poo" that has caused you to lose all of your savings. What will happen if some "stupid poo poo" happens yet again after you signed for the house? Now you have absolutely no savings, a mortgage, and another stupid loan for the down payment you get to default on.

You are in NO shape to buy a house.



One thing your agent is right about is interest rates may be very high, mainly because of inflation and the debt the gov't is putting itself in right now to help recover.. Though this is all speculation. Don't risk your entire future on a whim of some banker who profits from you getting a loan. Even if rates skyrocket in a years time, then just hold out until you can afford a house. There is nothing wrong with renting, especially at 24.

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Jun 10, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

swenblack posted:

drat it, you have got to stop repeating this. Prices are not low right now. In most markets, prices are still relatively high compared to historical trends. With interest rates going up and wages going down, prices are likely to keep going down.

Ok, let me rephrase. In most areas prices are low, but they could possibly go lower.

Hows that.


All I know is I was able to build a brand new house for less money then a 30 year old comp in my area, and since I signed the escrow, the builder increased prices by $30,000, so I stick to what I said.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Sounds good to me so long as you both feel like spending time where you are buying for a while. You guys seem to have a plan, and actually have savings unlike many of the other stories in this thread.

Good luck!


Your estimation of about 1300/m looks to be pretty accurate with 10% down and half PMI. Don't touch the IRA unless absolutely necessary. Adding on another $3k to the down payment won't change the PMI rate, so its not exactly necessary.

Edit:

Also, don't forget wedding gifts.. That could help if you close after november, otherwise it could certainly come in handy for boosting savings or buying new utilities.

Any chance of getting a loan for the 8k stimulus (from family member, not a bank loan) to be repaid in full once you amend? That would bring you to 15% down and lower PMI another notch.

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 00:51 on Jun 11, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

necrobobsledder posted:

Wedding gifts may only cover so much of the cost of the wedding

Oh I agree, but he said in his post that the wedding was covered, so I assumed that the parents were paying for the whole thing so all the gifts would be profit.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

RagingHematoma posted:

Rates are up again today :cry:

The Treasury dropped a touch yesterday lowering rates slightly. Hopefully we're at the top of the hill. Europe just got hit hard yesterday stock wise, so that might hurt the US today which might cause people to run back to bonds and lower rates. Cross fingers.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
Hopefully it continues, but the past 2 days have had some light losses to the bond yields. Today it seems to be falling fast, but that could very well change by the end of the day.

Whatever the case, if it can continue to fall for 9 days I'll be a happy man.. If it can keep the pace through July 1st, I might also see a nice drop in my student loan rates as well.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982
When I talk to my mortgage guy, he usually sounds like he wants to kill himself, so things are very busy at the moment.. They got hit very hard with refinances lately, and after the rates magically shot up a full 1%, they started getting tons of complaint calls and people freaking out because they just wasted 300+ dollars on home appraisals and now they can't refinance.

Back in January when I signed up for my pre-approval, I heard by the next day.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Chajara posted:

My boyfriend had me all excited about us buying our first house if he got the job he's trying for... but I just ran the numbers and I don't think we can afford it at all. He asked for 12 an hour, and I'm currently waitressing and I'm lucky to make minimum wage. On top of that his stupid student loans are costing us like 300 a month in addition to my 86 or so.

I was so excited to find a place with a couple bedrooms and a little yard where I could have a few chickens and a beehive and a garden. Looks like most of the houses in the area this job will be in are at least 120,000 or so and most are way, way higher. Maybe they'll fall, and maybe they'll give him more money (if he gets the job at all, he currently makes 9 an hour) but my hopes, at least for now, are completely dashed. :(

gently caress being poor.

Honest opinion is that if you are even discussing hourly rates don't even bother thinking about a house.

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Dik Hz posted:

I know you didn't mean it this way, but that sounds somewhat elitist.

No you are right, I didn't mean to insult trades jobs. When I read her post I was picturing a fresh out of school students trying to work as low-end supervisors at a retail store. If they are in an actual trade, that is much more stable, but I would still imagine them making more then 9-12/h.

She stated she was a waitress at the moment and I was thrown back when she stated that his student loans were costing over 300/m and he was looking at a 12/h job.

Maybe some more information about their career goals or future would help the house decision-making process a bit better.

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 14:23 on Jun 15, 2009

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

Rick Rickshaw posted:

Who are the typical tenants? Some guy who lost his house because he bought something he couldn't afford and needs a place for his family?

That is exactly what happened to my sister-in-law. When someone loses their house and files for bankruptcy, their credit is shot and most apartment complexes or commercial renting facilities won't rent to them due to their bad credit, but they still need somewhere to live. Sometimes their financial troubles aren't even their fault but they still struggle to even rent, so private homes are often good in this case.

But you could also get some drug dealer who trashes the place.

You never know.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

FidgetyRat
Feb 1, 2005

Contemplating the suckiness of people since 1982

RagingHematoma posted:

Rates were down today :swoon:

Do you guys think we can keep this downward momentum after the whirlwind that was the last two weeks?

Well its not been luck. Every day whether it goes up or down always has a reason.. The past 3 days or so the bond market has done much better since the market realized that inflation and a weak dollar is not causing as much of a problem as they expected. Last week we had a successful auction of the 30-year bonds and russia gave us a thumbs up, so things started to improve.

This week, the dollar did awesome (and actually caused stocks to tank a bit) which usually causes people to retreat into bonds which are safer investments which causes mortgage rates to decrease.

We'll see if it can hold out, but yesterday Russia started pushing for a second "world" currency which could hit the dollar today.

I think it will go down, but slowly.. My personal belief is we won't see it hit under 5% again. There's not much the Fed. can do to reduce them further as the Fed. interest rate is drat near zero already. Just imagine what will happen when they reset it in a few months.. Yikes.

Edit:

AP posted:

Oil prices rose back above $71 a barrel Tuesday as investors picked up commodities after the U.S. dollar slumped on comments by Russian President Medvedev, who said the world needed new reserve currencies.

Sigh.. Lets hope this doesn't hurt us too much.. Don't you love how one loving personal opinion from a world leader can gently caress up the entire world's stock market. Bankers are pussies.


Edit2:

Yep, Russia is officially a dick and bonds took a hit early on. Hopefully this will go down during the day.. Otherwise we're on the way back up.

FidgetyRat fucked around with this message at 13:44 on Jun 16, 2009

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply