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The Pros And Cons Of
Tapping Your Equity
Consumers enjoying increased equity in their home don't always make the best decision about how to tap their equity.
In a recent survey, during the first quarter of 2000, 79 percent of Freddie Mac-owned loans were refinanced with loans that were at least 5 percent larger than their original mortgage, compared to 57 percent during the first quarter of 1999. Among those who refinanced fixed-rate mortgages, they refinanced with loans that were a median 0.3 percent more expensive than their original loan, according to Freddie Mac.
Refinancing is down overall, due to
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higher interest rates, but home owners who did refinance did so to tap the median 27 percent increase in home equity during the first quarter this year,
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It's Your Move
It's Your Move . . . and whether it takes you and your family across town or across the country it will go more smoothly if you take time to do some planning and, most importantly, take time out for yourself.
List everything and anything that comes to mind as you think of it. Keep a notebook (preferably with pockets) by the phone to capture and date all phone calls, messages, notes, and information given to you as it happens. Jot down the names and phone numbers of all the utility companies, newspapers, physicians and such, that you will need to notify.
Insert a calendar in the front and immediately pencil in appointments. Plot out your time frame, beginning with the date of the move and work backwards, scheduling daily plenty of time for sorting, packing, cleaning, storing items, going to the recycling center, dump, sending out change of address notices. Schedule vacation time if needed for the move. Determine services to be scheduled at the other end, such painters, and make reservations for alternative accommodations if needed once you sell your home.
Schedule time on the calendar or in your daily planner first thing in the
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Remodelers, Repeat:
I Will Not Lose My Mind!
In life, three things are certain: Death, taxes, and stress from remodeling projects.
It's true. Remodeling your house, even if you use contractors, is invariably a burdensome task. Novices believe they'll sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits of others' labors, but those of us who have been around this block before are wise to two facts: Remodeling projects always take longer than we expected, and we always spend more than we thought we would.
Remodeling is a strain on families. It's the middle of summer, and your kids are running around a plastic-covered room with no place to sit. There's an inch-thick layer of dust sitting on top of everything in your house. You'd like to serve dinner, but suddenly you can't remember if your silverware is in the bedroom or the garage.
Face it. If you decide to remodel, you're in for an endurance test. So how do you cope with a home in a mess? Here are a few strategies for setting up temporary accommodations for yourself in the middle of remodeling projects:
If you're remodeling your kitchen and need an alternative kitchen in the meantime, finding a source of running water is obviously your first priority. You may have to make runs to wherever your refrigerator has taken up temporary residence. Keep your microwave, if it's a free-standing unit, nearby if you can
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Is it Bait and Switch -- or
Just Good Business?
You're shopping for a mortgage and you contact a lender advertising competitive interest rates. You're told that while the lowest rate is no longer available, you might qualify for a loan at a bit higher interest rate that has a prepayment penalty built in. You decline; but are amazed when the lender calls back in two hours to offer you a competitive interest-rate loan without a prepayment penalty.
What's going on? Is it an illegal form of bait-and-switch or is the lender just being competitive?
While the practice might initially send up red flags to the consumer, the lender was (hopefully) acting in a legal manner. True bait-and-switch is luring a buyer to a certain product without ever having that product or service available, then placing the consumer in a product that's more expensive and/or beneficial to the company. The lender in our example
Daily News and Advice
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