PF Under 30

Paying off debt and finding my financial lifestyle

Archive for category Mortgage

Loan Modification Worked!

Oct 15

Posted by kiki in Mortgage | No Comments

Despite all of my friends, and trusted confidants in the industry saying that loan modifications are hard to come by these days, I actually got one. Well, technically I got two.

This is for my first home (now a rental) that I bought when I first moved to Phoenix. This isn’t the one we closed on in May. Anyway, my unemployment was definately the key to my success. I had heard that I did not qualify for Obama’s Forcelosure Prevention plan because the place was not my primary residence, however, they had other modification options, so I filled out the paperwork anyway.

Yesterday I finally got a fax from the mortgage company with a proposal to cut my 1st loan payment by $150 and drop my interest rate to 4.4% for 5 years (basically, an ARM). The other Terms and Conditions of the loan stated that it would raise my principal balance by $3000 and that I would have to make a good faith payment equivalent to one month of my old loan. Not great, but better than a sharp stick in the eye. It kinda pissed me off that they would raise my principal balance an extra 3K.

Anyway, today I was going through the mail and I also received a proposal for my 2nd mortgage on that property. This one went from 9.6% to 2.2% AND included a principal reduction of $17,000! Again, it’s basically an ARM for the next 5 years, but the principal reduction is forever! They’ve gotten their money’s worth though, because I’ve been paying 9.6% for the last 5 years, paying a whopping $1000 of principal.

Anyway, the loan payments have gone down by about $300 a month, which still isn’t quite enough to make it a wash with my rental income, but much closer than it was before! And with foreclosures still booming here in AZ, in all likelihood, my rental rates will increase when the lease expires in March.

So if you’re unemployed, or have recently got hit with an ARM adjustment, apply! It took them a couple of months to go through the whole thing, but it’s SO worth it!

House hunting success!

Feb 23

Posted by kiki in Big Purchases, Credit Scores, Mortgage | No Comments

Curb appeal!

Curb appeal!

So, after 6 months of Oogling over this house I fell in love with, we finally made an offer on it this weekend. It’s a short-sale, so the bank has to approve, but it’s PERFECT! We made an offer 15K over the other guy, and I did my pre-approval through their bank, so as long as we don’t get into a bidding war, I think we’ve got this one nailed.

This is a 1600 sq ft house on the Lake. (Okay, “Lake” means something different in AZ than it does in the rest of the world. It’s more like a series of man-made canals.) 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage.

See pictures of the front:

And of the view from the back yard: 

View from the back!

View from the back!

Anyway, I should know whether the bank accepts my offer sometime this week. We did 10% down and a 15 year loan. I also found out my credit score average was 764, which apparently qualified me for best tier rates, and that was before they accounted for payoff of my car loan and the Citi card payoff (that will hopefully post tomorrow.) Using one of those nifty calculators, the Citi card payoff raises my score 30+ points, which should put me close to 800.

No worries though, I’m just pleased I qualified for the best rates at status quo. Once this house closes, I won’t care about my score anymore because I’m done w/ debt. I will close my Citi card and officially be left with one credit card open (the USAA) 2 loans on my rental house, and the 15 year lake house loan. Viva la new casa! Stay tuned for updates!

Random Money Updates

Feb 18

Posted by kiki in Credit and Debt, Mortgage | No Comments

I’ve been too meloncholy to post. This money stuff gives you ADD, I swear. Some days are good, some days not so good.

Examples:

Frusterated Monday morning thanks to President’s Day and the lack of mail showing up with my Costco Amex rebate check.  This is pacified with my 15′ Christmas Tree find (someone bought it end of January, never picked it up) at Sam’s Club for $75 during my lunchtime. It was packed an in the ‘cedes 20 minutes later. :-)

Tuesday was redeemed by my Amex check showing up in the mail ($60 whole dollars), the trip to Costco that cost me $4.05, the subsequent “cancel and burn party,” for the Amex card and the news that my boyfriend was going to use part of the money he recently took out of his IRA to fund a down payment on our new house.

Today I discovered that the house I’ve been drooling after is actually a short sale, and that the bank already has an offer on it. (Booo) If the bank rejects that offer, we can put one in for about $50,000 more than I was thinking I was going to pay.  And the news that if I want to do that, I’d need to do it soon and my credit score is awaiting a 40 point jump from the Citi payoff.

Citi payoff you ask? Yeah, that’s right. Because of my high(er) income and the fact that the BF’s house is still pending, the easiest way to do this is in my name only. Because of that, paying off my Citi account instead of one of his accounts is going to move us from a “good” credit score to a “great” one. This is also going to apply to my Carloan money, so the only thing I’ll officially have left is the Advanta 0%.

For all of you who are wondering though, the payments have not yet posted to the account, so I’m not updating the progress bars yet.

This is the first instance where we’re really combining our money, instead of splitting stuff like roomates. As excited as I am to update those progress bars, I can’t in good consious act like I’m not responsible for helping with his outstanding debts. We’re going to go over the numbers tonight or Friday, but I will most likely assume payment (and payoff) of one of his loans.

Things are complicated and overwhelming (I forgot what it was like to buy a house), but it shouldn’t be anything a bottle of wine, a hot tub, and a few deep breaths can’t handle.

Rented my house today!

Dec 6

Posted by kiki in Big Purchases, Living Expenses, Mortgage | 4 Comments

Well, after being on the market for about a month and a half – I have officially rented my house today. It’s two guys with a Golden Retreiver, which will be perfect for my little house and back yard. The renters will be moving in on January 1st, which gives me a few weeks to get the rest of my stuff out of there. Luckily, the week of Christmas I have Saturday-Wednesday off, giving me a 5 day weekend to get this accomplished.

Now for the financials -

My property management takes $85 a month in service fees – leaving me $765 in income. My mortgage is $1221.89 plus $45/month in HOA dues. Net of it is I will owe ~$500 out of pocket. Not bad considering I don’t have to pay for the apartment!

But the other good news is that I also get to get rid of about $350/month in utility expenses. Gas, electric, garbage, water, high speed, gardner, security system all accounted for about $350/month in expenses. The point is, I’m going to be banking a lot of cash!

I will however take over all of the foodstuff spending for the two of us, and probably the Cox Cable/Highspeed bill too. Still, this allows me the perfect oppertunity to play catch up on a few of my failing projects:

  1. Max out Roth IRA for 2007 – due by April 15, 2008 ($3792.00 to go.) 
  2. The great Credit Card Paydown – want to be under $10,000
  3. House payment – contribute an extra $100 per month (Starting January 2008)
  4. E-Fund $10,000 in Savings goal – finish by December 31, 2008.
  5. Car payment – pay minimums until 1-4 are finished.

Anyway, very excited that the universe threw me a bone on this one. I have a lot of catching up to do after 3 months of Unemployment. Off to cancel utilities. Man this feels good!

I’m In!! USAA stole me love!

Nov 7

Posted by kiki in Auto Loans, Big Purchases, Credit Scores, Insurance, Mortgage, USAA | 3 Comments

As of yesterday I am officially a full fledged member of USAA. How you may ask? Well… my Grandfater was a Captain in the military and he had an account. My father has an account as a result of being one of my grandfather’s children, and I now have an account because I am his daughter. Can we say SWEET?!?!?

USAA has some of the best banking and insurance products on the market. Their Bill Pay Service is phenominal. You can deposit checks online, they refund ATM fees, and have free checks for life. They win awards for their phenomenal customer service year after year.

Anyway, as of yesterday I transferred my auto and home policies to them… saving me around $300 a year and putting all my accounts in one place. They couldn’t beat my life insurance premium with Prudential though, so I guess that one won’t go over.

I will probably be refinancing my mortgage with them as well – into a fixed 30 year product – and again – all at the same institution. My new vechicle will probably be financed with them as well, as soon as I figure out what I want to replace the ML500.

Credit Minitoring will probably go to them as well, as they have a $6 a month plan for unlimited Experian credit monitoring. Stay tuned as I learn all the intracacies of USAA!