Mortgage Refi

So, i don't know if i mentioned before that I have been trying to refi my house. I bought my first house at age 23 with some money that my wonderful grandfather, "Pa", left me. My mother died when I was 12, so her inheritance was divided between my sister and I.

I did well on the sale of that house during the "boom" and put that money down on this one. I didn't "over buy". This is a "modest" home (by San Diego standards). She's the size of a "postage stamp", but her layout is really nice so she doesn't feel like she's tiny.

BUT, she is.

And her value has declined and declined.... {humpf}

THANK GOODNESS that I put as much down when I bought her b/c that is the only thing that has allowed me to refinance!!!

And, DON'T MAKE ME GO BACK ON MY RANT ABOUT REFINANCING b/c all of the people who didn't pay their mortgages and got a break? Yeah - YOU PISS ME OFF!! I'm struggling like heck to pay mine and all of you got to refi WAY before *I* did!!!

But, Obama FINALLY changed the "rules" in January to allow people like me: I bought a house, the value went down, I still paid the mortgage, the value went down some more, but I still had equity, but had NO income b/c this economy sucks!!!!!

I "accidentally" called GMAC about what I could do.... They had already told me "no" so many times that I don't know what made me call again!!! But, "OH! There was a new program starting back in January" - well, I was already pissed. I mean, I had already been in contact with them last year and they had declined me for a refi b/c "I wasn't in default" - really??? I was the GOOD one! I *PAID* my mortgage and b/c of that, *I* was being declined!!! But now, suddenly, there was a new program, and *I* qualified!! And they didn't bother to call and let me know???? UGH!!!

Fine. New program. I qualify. I applied. The average closing time was 60 days.

First of all, because my credit score has declined I will pay a higher rate (while it makes sense that they feel that I will be less likely to repay it, I have no money so I need the lower payment!). Then, the 60 days average time, that was right around my payment so I hoped I would get to skip that one. You get to skip at least one payment when you close a refinanced loan. Nope. It was going to be longer. Then the next payment was to be due. STILL NOTHING!!! I had to pay that one too!

Also, they screwed up the loan package FOUR TIMES!!! Really??? How many times should you have to correct a mortgage company before they get THE ADDRESS OF THE HOME THAT THEY ARE FINANCING correct??? These are probably some of the issues that lead this country into this MESS to begin with!!!

From the start until the guy came to my office to sign the documents, it was 104 days. And don't you know it but he FORGOT ONE! They Fed Ex'd it to my home (I was away at a friend's wedding so it sat at my house several days) and said that it could delay my closing!

This refi was important - Not only was it the fact that I would have the reduced payment by lowering the monthly payment , but I could skip a full mortgage payment! That's huge!!! To any of us struggling out there, $1900 per month is a CRAP LOAD of money!!!


It's done.

I checked online tonight (b/c of course, I haven't received anything from THEM saying it's done). And apparently, the screwed things up so badly that I get an immediate principal paydown of about $900. Yeah - that screams "error!"

I am simply irate about the whole thing.

No one ever replied to my questions.

The process took WAY longer than it should have and I had NO issues.

I don't use the word often, but I DO have hatred towards GMAC and Ally Bank.

They both can..... {explitive deleted}

Sorry I've Been Gone So Long...

I think of my poor blog very often!!!


But, sadly, I work 5 jobs and I just don't have any spare time. There are a LOT of things I should be doing right now. Not the least of which is CLEAN THIS HOUSE!!!

There are no cleaning people coming by (like, back in the 'hay day'). The funny thing is that, back then, things were so busy at the store that I felt that I didn't have the time to clean the house myself. Now, ironically, things are SO SLOW at the store, that I have too many jobs to try to cover the basics that *I* don't have time to clean the house....

It's a terrible irony.

Still broke.

Still sad.

Still fighting filing bankruptcy...

My wonderful Jeep Grand Cherokee!!!

Oh!!!! She was so wonderful! The POWER! And she was the limited edition so she had ALL of the amenities!!!

Well, I tried to get a loan off of her value. Declined.

Tried again. Declined.


My fiance said he would co-sign (he has IMPECABLE credit). Declined. (well, we could have gotten a teeny tiny loan on her but that wasn't worth the hassle!)

ARG!!!!

So, we went a different route. And I'm going to let you in on some "secrets" too, while I'm at it!!

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One of my newer jobs (started in March) is a 50+ mile round trip, stuck in traffic, drive three times a week. 

My Jeep got HORRIBLE gas mileage - between 12-15 mpg in that situation, so we searched for cars with great gas mileage. Of course, the hybrids come up on top, but we don't have "room to spare" in our financial life and the whole issue with the battery dying and whether it happens in or out of warranty - that kept us away from hybrids at this point.

Then, there was not only MPG but price and value. Plus, the GIANT 90 pound dog which needs to fit in the car.

So, we decided on the Honda Fit. 28 city, 35 highway. Pretty good! And Honda's have a great reputation.

My fiance is a BIG fan of used vehicles, so we looked at 'slightly used' Fits (they haven't been out too long so they can only be "slightly" used.). We were SHOCKED to find them at virtually the same price as new ones!!! (So, they really hold their values!)

We shopped around for the best trade in value on the Jeep. We DEFINITELY could have done better if we sold her ourselves, but I'm not confident in her status and didn't want to have someone coming back to me saying she needed work done (She is great, runs great, but I haven't had her on regular maintenance because I can't afford to, so I'm just not sure if there is something looming that I'm unaware of...), plus, I never actually got the title when the loan was paid in full (NOTE TO YOU!!! If you have a car that is paid in full, GO THROUGH THE HASSLE to get the lien holder off of the title!! It is SUCH a pain in the ass and they NEVER have your same sense of urgency when you need it! They say it could take up to 6 weeks!!!!). 

Moral of the story, we bought a brand new, downgraded in luxury but WAYYYYY upgraded in gas mileage, Honda Fit.

The other TIP I'm going to give is that they are giving me the cash outright on the Jeep. We financed the full value of the new car at new car rates (we were able to get 1.99%!!). When we get the new title, we will take the money from the sale of the Jeep and pay off a credit card that is at 26.99% and another that is at 19.99% and then put some aside. We will be WAY ahead of ourselves! Plus, have some spare cash and a little breathing room on our credit cards.

We aren't going to be out of debt by any stretch of the imagination - we'll actually be MORE in debt - but the debt is at SUCH a low interest rate that in the long run, we will be better off. And, again, it's that "breathing room". Yes, we'll probably fill up those cc's again with trips we need to make this summer, but at least we'll be able to make them!

It's been a while....

OH! I have so much to share with you!!! (no, I didn't win the lottery! Everything is not really 'good' news by anyone's measure, but it's news, none-the-less).

So, I quit one of my jobs. If you recall, I had 5. Along with running my own retail business, I worked part time at 4 other endeavors. Yeah.... That couldn't keep going! I'm 42! SHEESH!!

BUT, the "one to go" BEGGED me to stay on periodically. So, while I say that "I quit", I didn't really. I'll help him out with his work next Tuesday afternoon and continue to do that once or twice a month.


But it was nice to have a break for even just those two afternoons a week!!!


Ok. More to come. I have a TON to tell you but I have SUCH limited time! {sigh}

What Kind of Car are you Driving???

Is your car paid off?

Or, if it's a newer vehicle, is the remaining loan lower than the value?

Or is the remaining value the same, but the current rates are way better??


These are just three scenarios where your car could help you out. Depending on the value, mileage, and age of your vehicle, even if you have it paid in full, you might be able to refinance or get a loan off of your car/suv/truck/van/RV/Boat....

My bank doesn't do them, so you might want to start directly with your local credit union. Even if you don't have an account with them, find one close/convenient to you and approach them about it.

Credit Unions WANT customers! I don't "get" the difference but credit unions seem WAY more eager for customers. And their rates are WAY better.

So, I have a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I think it was initally $27k. Now, she is paid in full.

I am close to the end of being able to refinance this car. So, I can't remember the exact details but both the age of the vehicle and the mileage were a factor -after a certain point, they can't do them at all.
So, I'm working on this now. *I* don't qualify but my sweetie said he would co-sign (is he a keeper, or what?!).

But hey, if I/he can get this loan, then that will be about $5000 that I can use to pay bills!

Now, out of that $5k, I will give him 3-6 months of payments on the loan that he can hold so that he knows that they are covered.

Don't be stupid and get that cash out and not plan for at least a few months! (of course, you should be planning for ALL months and how to pay off this loan! especially if you are involving a co-signer!)

So, the "advice" here is:

• if you have an asset that you can refinance, check with your local credit union
• shop around for the lowest rates, but beware of having your credit report pulled too many times (it lowers your overall credit rating)
• if your CU says "no", ask a relative to co-sign
• if you get the loan, immediately pull aside at least 3-6 months payments. Put them in ingdirect.com. you can't get at the money immediately (so, no impulse buying) and you get good interest and have a safety net.

Today I'm Sad....

A couple of days ago I came to the realization that I seriously needed to try to find new homes for my kitties. (I have 5 cats; all rescues).

They aren't all getting along anymore: mommy's never home because she works so much and Baby Bob died so Robert is angry and agressive; and Charlie found another home; then we took in a cat who was being abused, but Robert doesn't like her; and blah blah blah.

So, between everyone not getting along and the blood and fur everywhere, not to mention the lashing out in behaviors (pee in inappropriate places; hissing fits; SCREAMING bloody murder fights) it's NOT COOL.

So, I did something I ***NEVER*** thought I would do: I posted on Facebook for friends to try to find homes for a few of the cats.

It was hard to do. So hard!!!!

What was worse? A guilt trip from someone about giving them up. And how much harder HER life has been than mine, but she kept her pets. At first, I just replied, responded to her statements - how hard it was. And that I would never abandon any of them, but one of them lives under the bed and that is no life and on and on. Total "defensive mode".

Then as the evening went by - I was at Choir rehearsal (for a non-profit charitable choir I sing with) I started thinking more about it. And I started getting angry. And I had to excuse myself twice because I started to cry. When I got home, I wrote her again and told her my feelings. She replied immediately with "I don't mean to make you feel that way, but...." but then again how her life is so much harder and "I wouldn't have offered to help if..."

None of it made me feel better. I feel worse actually.

Interestingly, I've never actually met this person. She is a friend of a DEAR friend of mine. I had always heard about her and we "connected" over facebook. And we have ALWAYS seen eye-to-eye! So this is weird. Unchartered territory. I'm essentially "in a fight" with a stranger.

Alternate train of thought here: I heard an article on NPR on Monday about language. This guy was studying words. (pardon me for not remembering his name, university, study, etc - i'm driving so I'm actually paying attention to the road and the rest is "comfort" information in my mind). Anyway, in this guy's study, the word "I" is important. If you use the word "I" in your sentence a lot, then, essentially, you are deferring seniority to the other person in the conversation. So, *I* guess that *I* shouldn't feel so bad because she used the word "I" a bunch in the conversation. So, maybe she WAS trying to make me feel better. But I only felt worse.

Animals are the unseen victim of this economy.

Incidentally, while I have been writing this, I had break up two cat fights - one where Robert had an almost absurd amount of Bella's fur hanging from his mouth (it would have been funny if i wasn't so pissed!).

Miss Piper is currently taking a bath behind me getting ready to settle in for a nap.

And KC has positioned herself on the desk in front of me with her purr on full-tilt!

They are crazy but I love them!

Epic Fail!

I clearly SUCK at writing a blog!!! First, you need time, which i don't have. Second, you need dedication, but I am an AMAZING procrastinator so I kept telling myself, "I'll do it tomorrow!" like somehow MAGICALLY I'd have more time tomorrow! UGH!

Today alone I found that I missed two SERIOUS deadlines - one for Scripps Health to not send me to collections (that was due a week ago) and one for a class at my business (she asked on 4/19 about whether we could get a product in or not).

I just hate that type of stuff!!

And my "easiest" job - looking after my friends' condo (they are military and got moved to DC) - they have their THIRD water leak/issue in less than 18 months. Yes, THREE! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! They NEVER had a problem before and now a toilet was slowly leaking into the unit below, then we had a scare that we had anotehr leak in the kitchen but it was a drain outside, and today I got the call that there is a leak in the OTHER bathroom leading into the downstairs condo. I don't even have time to meet the plumber over there so all of that will have to go site-unseen (by me) and just cross my little fingers.