My First House

Good for you guys. We're in a similar circumstance. We're have about 13 years left on an accelerated 19-year mortgage. 6.125%.

 

exfreakinactly. i could live in something that resembles a mansion if i chose. thing is, i'd live there for a year and then lose it.

 

Can you say: "Section 8" kids?

 

I agree. And the perfect storm of lenders pushing numbers, and here we are...

 

Having bought my first house about four years ago, it's amazing how much they were trying to get people to get adjustable-rate mortgages even though interest rates were the lowest they'd been in 50 years.
I'm glad I was smart enough not to listen — nor did I listen when the guy tried to approve for a mortgage about 30 percent higher than I could afford or anyone else had offered to loan me.
I went with another lender and am glad I did every day.

 

I was at an age where I simply couldn't wait any longer to buy a house. So I took the ARM. A year later I refied into a fixed. I can't tell you how glad I am I did that.

 

Started in the current house with a 1% ARM that was supposed to go up another percent each year for five years. Took that initially because my wife wasn't working when we moved. I knew she would eventually get a job then we'd refi.
Her work hasn't been steady, but we changed it to a 30-yr fixed at 6.0% more than two years ago. That is exactly what we planned. But we didn't plan on a wage freeze for me last year. We're muddling through.
But you gotta get the fixed rate ASAP.

 

That's interesting. My sister and brother-in-law did that recently. It sounded a little risky to me, but what the fuck do I know? I'm going to be renting for a good long while and they've got a house and a BMW and loaned me money once (yes, I promptly paid it back). Their track record suggests they're not missing a payment of anything.

 

I've never missed a mortgage payment either (now I just jinxed myself). I kept trying to get these lower rates, and the lenders kept telling me to consolidate everything (we have high credit card debt due to some family emergencies). When I told them to keep the credit card debt separate, the lenders would get pissy.

One day, I received a solicitation in the mail from my mortgage lender, offering me a chance to refinance. I called them, the guy tries to get me to consolidate, I tell him no.

Lender: But sir, you called us because you want to save money.

Me: I called because you offered me a chance to refinance my home. I didn't call to discuss my credit card debt. Thank you.

Click.

 

Been in my current home one year, lender hasn't sought to refinance yet.

Previous home, different lender, about 3-4 years into a 30-year mortgage I called asking to refinance. They said they had a mortgage modification program where for a fixed fee (lower than closing costs) I could simply modify my mortgage from a 30-year fixed at 7.25 to a 15-year fixed at 5.75. Since I was already paying extra on the principal each month anyway (to build equity) the new payments were only $100 more than what I was paying, so I took it.


If your lender wants you to consolidate, just respond "the credit report you have on me is wrong, I just got a bonus at work (or my wife got a bonus) and we used it to pay off the credit cards last week, so there's no debt to consolidate"

 

Your debt ratio may not be inside guidelines so that is why lenders ask to consolidate. Not every deal is a scam.

 

Lender: "We believe we can get you a lower rate."

BTExpress: "Nothing lower than my 5.25% exists. And it's almost paid off."

Lender: "We can help you consolodate your high-interest credit card debt."

BTExpress: "I have no credit card debt. And never will."

Click.