Great article in Seattle Times this weekend. (Can’t believe I said that. Oh yea, it’s because it was copied from a reporter for the Denver Post.) Proactive maintenance is key to saving money as a homeowner. Something mentioned in the article is what we have recommended to homeowners for years: If you had an inspection performed when you purchased your …
Left Out In The Cold?
The help that the Federal Government has pumped into the economy may take a awhile to help home-buyers and those seeking to refinance. The Sunday Seattle Times included an article by Jeff D. Opdyke and Jane J. Kim of The Wall Street Journal. Very good insights as to why we are not seeing conforming 30 year fixed rate mortgages drop to near 5% …
The Mortgage Professor
Jack Guttentag, aka “The Mortgage Professor”, is a syndicated columnist to the Seattle Times. He has often referenced his website: http://www.mtgprofessor.com/Default.htm. Today, I finally decided to pay a visit, as I am considering the alternatives available to me for refinancing my current Jumbo mortgage. There is a lot valuable information there. It is more important than ever to thoroughly research …
Mortgage Mess: Light at the End of The Tunnel?
Jack Guttentag, aka “The Mortgage Professor”, provides some interesting insights into the mortgage market meltdown in his Sunday Seattle Times article “It’s Time To Expand Role of Mortgage Insurance”. Parts of his article are characteristically dry and difficult to read, but the essence of the message is there. If there is a bright spot in this deluge of not-so-good-news, it …
Rex Agreement: Avoid This Like The Plague
You would think that with the mortgage mess still unsorted, the last thing we would see is another exotic home equity product from a financial institution. The Rex Agreement has to be one of the most abusive instruments I can image. It’s just like taking your home equity to the pawn shop. According to the Sunday Seattle Times article: 1. …
Our Pond Is Waking Up…..
If you have a pond in your yard, you have noticed it beginning to wake up. The fish are moving, the perennial plants are beginning to sprout, and maybe the water has turned brackish with water borne algae. Yech! Our pond is about 30 feet in diameter and 6 feet deep. This is the second pond in our life, and …
Time To Fertilize The Lawn: Caution
I mentioned last week that it is time to get started with fertilizing your lawn in order to get ahead of the weeds and bugs. However, I failed to mention MOSS. Scotts fertilizer with moss control works very well on my lawn. The word of caution is that you take the steps necessary to make sure this fertilizer doesn’t end …
Know The Cost Of Your Commute
As we face the prospect of $4.00/gallon gas, and the likelihood that we will soon be paying tolls to drive around King County, take the time to calculate what your commute actually costs, relative to your home’s value and location. This nifty tool will answer questions that perhaps you hadn’t thought of asking before. While we have historically sought to …
How To Get That Beautiful Green Lawn? Conserve
I am not an expert, but I’ve learned a few things about lawn care over the years, especially now that I am mowing about 1.5 acres about every 5 days during the height of growing season. My older Brother told me something interesting a few years ago: compared to our British counterparts, Americans tend to over-water and under-fertilize their lawns. …
What $1 Million Buys In Homes Across The U.S. by Forbes.com
Honestly, most of the news surrounding housing has me a little depressed lately. Actually, it’s not so much the housing, but the credit debacle that has caused banks across the country to lose their collective minds as evidenced by arcane C.Y.A. policies implemented in the last week: cancelled “HELOC’s” [home equity line of credit], and second position lenders refusing to …