For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yeah my PMI is off after 10 years as they said, but that was before they started changing things...

[kehlis]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

ARMs certainly aren't as risky today as they were 15 years ago but I still wouldn't take one without the expectation of refinancing before the 5 years.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

$85-130/mo is a lot for PMI. To me, anyway.

[NDAlum]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I hate PMI with every fiber of my body...

In the future I'm doing a 15-year fixed with no PMI and like 20% down right off the bat.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I hate PMI with every fiber of my body...

In the future I'm doing a 15-year fixed with no PMI and like 20% down right off the bat.

That's how I feel about PMI, but being a first time home buyer our options are limited.

[NDAlum]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yea it's really an uphill battle for MOST people. You need a good financial plan, a decent income, live below your means and hope no emergencies occur.

You do get a tax break with PMI...but I would rather not pay PMI...but the tax break is there.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

So long as you have enough interest to itemize (which is typically the case), but I can live without that affecting my tax rate.

[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yea it's really an uphill battle for MOST people. You need a good financial plan, a decent income, live below your means and hope no emergencies occur.

You do get a tax break with PMI...but I would rather not pay PMI...but the tax break is there.

Yeah. We just had to capitalize on a low market, and didn't have 20% saved up. I'm hoping that in 5-10 years when we need something bigger that we'll be able to easily do 20% to avoid the PMI.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Nobody likes PMI, especially since it only benefits the lender, but its one of those things that suck you deal with for awhile.

Cant wait til it drops off of my mortgage. Got a low rate though so im not complaining.

[ESPNdeportes]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Question for the group about lawn mowing/care. Our family is about to close on a home that is on a decent sized lot- 0.58 acres, which as about the norm for the neighborhood.

I want to do the lawncare myself, but not sure if a riding mower makes sense on a lot that size. My thought was to get a push mower and see how it goes initially, and if I don't like it or it takes too much time (would like to be under 2 hours to mow and trim) to consider a riding mower or even a wide diameter push mower.

Anybody with a similar size lawn with recs?

[Stu]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

That's how I feel about PMI, but being a first time home buyer our options are limited.

Can you put 10% down? In my area most lenders offer a program where you can take a small 2nd mortgage to avoid paying PMI. The rate on the 2nd is slightly higher than the 1st but it still saved money for us when compared to programs that required PMI.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Can you put 10% down? In my area most lenders offer a program where you can take a small 2nd mortgage to avoid paying PMI. The rate on the 2nd is slightly higher than the 1st but it still saved money for us when compared to programs that required PMI.

That'd be about 15k-20k. Unfortunately no.

The bank we talked to today only had 2 100% options and those were the FHA Plus and RD loans. I was hoping they had more than that. I've already pre-qualified for the others by myself and with just my salary qualifications we're hitting the ceiling on what we would feel comfortable paying each month in mortgage.

If we could borrow the money down that would be great or if our parents were both loaded. Unfortunately we're in better financial standing than our parents were at our ages. I don't really feel comfortable asking for that amount of money either.

[23]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Dude...do you have a credit union?

If you do call them instead

[mike24forever]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Going through a huge reno right now. Walnut floors through the entire house, new base boards and railings. The kitchen living room, dining room will be painted including baseboards and windows. Then the new kitchen will be installed. Insurance is covering $83,000 of it and we are putting $6000 in for odds and ends. I'll post pictures when everything is done.

It should be done in about 4 more weeks. This is more stressful then when Holmes on Homes renovated my house. They were outside and in the basement, now I'm living with a make shift kitchen in the laundry room. First World problems...

Oh...and the dust!!! My goodness.

[Phobia]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Going through a huge reno right now. Walnut floors through the entire house, new base boards and railings. The kitchen living room, dining room will be painted including baseboards and windows. Then the new kitchen will be installed. Insurance is covering $83,000 of it and we are putting $6000 in for odds and ends. I'll post pictures when everything is done.

It should be done in about 4 more weeks. This is more stressful then when Holmes on Homes renovated my house. They were outside and in the basement, now I'm living with a make shift kitchen in the laundry room. First World problems...

Oh...and the dust!!! My goodness.

I'm interested in hearing how you managed to get the insurance to cover 83,000 for your reno lol