Congrats to OldSchoolNESfan

On the recent closing of his first home. Sounds like he found the perfect place for him, his wife, and her horse...complete with a man cave. Nice! Hope everything goes well moving in.

I know we chatted about it briefly, but it is a big deal and congrats are in order.

Now make sure you make bi-weekly mortgage payments and 1 additional principle payment per year.

You'll literally save a hundred thousand or more by doing this.

I can shoot you the ammortizations if your interested. Most homeowners don't know how much they could save by doing this small step.

Congrats Oldschool!!! It's a great feeling to call a home your own and make it how YOU want it. FBD, great info, you're right alot of people don't realize the extra payment. Like you said, knocks thousands off and years also. Also if you're paying PMI, you can quit paying that sooner too and lower your monthly payments.

I would do whatever you possibly can to avoid a PMI. It is an absolute bullshit fee that banks use to fund bad loan recovery. Find another bank or do whatever you can to have 20% down at closing. It's literally pissing money away.

Yeah it is FBD, money grubbin bastards. Unfortunately, we are paying it but will be done with it this year.

Thanks guys!! Yep, going to be making bi-weekly payments. Don't think we have a PMI...up here in Canada. Here's a few photos...


my wife & I in front of the house


my new hangout in my man-cave

Looks great oldschool!

@Deaththreat...try to refi now. In many cases you can lower your rates and find a bank willing to remove the PMI. You are a lot more attractive to a bank when you already have a mortgage, than when you are trying to get your first.

Other things to negotiate for in mortgage dealings are free float downs. This is when you get to lower your rate if prime goes down during a certain period of time after closing. They will do a rate adjustment without penalty or fee. And yes, they can all do it, but will never volunteer that information to you.

Congrats Oldschool!

My wife and I are "in progress" on our new house. We're building for a second time, but still have to wait until November. I just own a pile of mud for now.

Congrats Old school so very happy for!! nothing like owning ur own!!!

Congrats OldSchool! Looks great!

Congrats! I hope to be where you are (not literally, I don't want to live in Canada) some day. I've always wanted massive amounts of home automation, but I could never justify the expense if some other jerk was going to be enjoying the fruits of my awesomeness.

Nice old school, I just got a new house and, my man cave has to wait till I build the wife a pool. Should of got one that some other poor bastard put in already

that's an awesome lookin house broski! keep the pics comin when you get the mancave setup! bumper pool table and a MAME arcade cabinet are a must!

Right on NES! All of the stress and ordeal is totally worth it once you settle into your future.

I agree with FBD. I make mortgage payments every week alternately on two properties. I also pay more than the minimum amount. All those extra payments, even if it's only $10 or $15 at a time go right on the principle.

Woot! Man cave! Next gathering is at OldSchool's place.

Congratulations on the move.

I think every homeowner here should look at a refi right now. In most cases you can go from a 30 year written 7 years ago at 6 % to a 15 year at 3.5% and have almost the same payment. You're cutting several hundred thousand off of your obligation.

Most people get a mortgage and forget about it, which is what the banks want you to do. I'm involved in the RE business, so it is more top of mind to me than most.

I've refied from a 30 year to a 15 year to a 10 year since 2005 on my primary residence, and my payment has gone up by only a very small amount each time. But when you look at the ammortizations, I'm saving so much money it's truly unbelievable.

Almost all of the money you pay into a mortgage is interest in the beginning years. By reducing your term, you bring the principle forward. This also applies to making additional principle payments on a 30 year. Banks are fucking evil. They withhold as much info about the loan product as possible. An uneducated consumer is their wet dream.

Know about the product and ask questions when financing. They think they have all the cards because you as the borrower are coming to them for money. The truth is, that they need you more than you need them. Without jacking you on interest, they can't make a profit.

If you talk to lenders, they'll all candidly tell you that they "need to get more money out the door". This means they are not originating enough loans. A solvent bank needs to have money "come in the door" as deposits, but without a strong lending program, they're sunk.

I'd advise trying to have as strong a credit rating as possible. This will make you even more powerful when negotiating, and get you better rates. You can get 1 free credit report from all three reporting agencies. Equifax/Experian/TransUnion. Here is the link: [url=annualcreditreport.com,]Credit Report[/url]

DO NOT pay for this with one of those annoying sites like freecreditreport.com

Scan this report thoroughly and close any open accounts. Limit the number of credit cards you use. Potential Debt is as bad as real debt to a creditor.

I hope this is helpful info for you guys. If you have any personal questions, PM me and I'll be glad to help. I hat seeing friends get screwed.

Quick question FBD, how can you refinance and avoid paying the outrageous closing costs all over again? If you can't, is there any way to tack it onto the mortgage. I don't exactly have 7 grand just sitting around for the fees.

Ha speak of the devil, the add to the left of the site is for mortgages.

If you refi with your current bank you can ask for a rate adjustment, not a true refi, in which case, your costs will be small. Around $1500.

There are many products that can roll closing costs into the mortgage.

I would start with Lending Tree. They will hammer you with emails, but they are usually very competitive. Credit Unions are also famous for very low expenses because they are member owned and non-profit. They have to pass all profits back to the shareholders in the form of reduced fees.

Yeah my local credit union I'm a member of only goes up to 15 year mortgages. Which right now, if we went to a 15, our payments would be to high for comfort I think.

Maybe it works differently in the US than here, but on any mortgages I've ever seen, there is a certain repayment amount you can do towards your mortgage principle each year. I believe this is a percentage of the actual mortgage amount remaining.

I think that if you have a decent interest rate already, it's better to just make use of that than refinancing because then you are forced to be paying those bigger payments even if you hit a rough patch. Instead you can do as it sounds like audio was saying he does which is put the money when you can.

Ideally as is often said with investing, you are supposed to "pay yourself first" so you can even setup automatic payments on the same day as your paycheque arrives against your mortgage that way you never really see the money so you don't miss it.

CerebusArdvark wrote:

Ideally as is often said with investing, you are supposed to "pay yourself first" so you can even setup automatic payments on the same day as your paycheque arrives against your mortgage that way you never really see the money so you don't miss it.

Yes! I use ING for everything (not pimpin') and can create as many accounts as I want for free, it's all free. My paychecks come in and are immediately dispersed to all of these accounts in the amount i desire. If there is anything left after "miscellaneous spending" bills are paid, the best thing to do with that money is to throw that money against big debts.