The Home Improvement Thread

Digging this up


So a week ago or so my better half who never does stuff like this but lately is showing cracks put in her phone number in some ad on the web about low refi rates and we have gotten like 300 calls


Anyways typically she doesn’t pick up but she has told a few our current rate of 2.62 or some such and they usually say they can’t beat it but “Loan Depot” says they can do 2.25% for ten years (the kind of rate you get on a 15 year) and then you go back to market rate up to 7.2%…

A savings of over $300 a month on what we currently pay

We are not considering this too seriously

Ordinarily I would say GTFO but wanted some thoughts

I would call sidefi directly regarding this matter, he is an expert.

Hey man this isn’t his first rodeo!


Listen, anybody’s input is welcome…….even sidefi


And this thread did cause me to get off my ass and tell my partner to get off hers and she got us a lower rate..

Anyway, absolutely not worth it.

Save $300 a month for the next decade which is approximately $36,000.

Then in 10 years your rate nearly triples and you lose any money you gained and then some in the following ten years…

Other factors to include are death, moving, etc… but I wouldn't do it.

trust me this hurts….Yada is right

this is also going to hurt, you really missed the boat on the crazy low rates on a 30yr fixed

But what if you sell at the end of the 10 year or before? You would need to find a new place but both our kids could be gone by then…maybe not

Still you save $36,000..actually more like 40k

We have a very small apartment in DC

Sure we are not planning to move but if you end up moving isn’t that money you gave away?


Not sure what the second part of sidefi financial wizardry post means.. we are happy with our current rate which we didn’t even have to refinance to get… I think it’s quite competitive

No doubt this is a weird offer and maybe the issue is just that $4000 a year just isn’t worth it with the risk one is taking…

Wait… you live in an apartment in DC?

I thought you were an Arlington dweller.

No I do live in a home in Arlington…that’s the mortgage rate in question



My partner owns an apartment in DC she rents

I just meant we do have another property…not like I want to live there

Starsky wrote:
No I do live in a home in Arlington…that’s the mortgage rate in question



My partner owns an apartment in DC she rents

I just meant we do have another property…not like I want to live there

Yeah… keep that place, sell the farm in ten years… or vice-versa.

Ok well I guess we might need a financial planner

I just think a 30 year fixed is the way to go
Or a 15 fixed

10 year balloon payment is just asking for problems
You just have no idea where you’ll be ?
But your payments are going to go up possibly $500 to 1000 a month
Who knows what the market looks like in 2031? What if that’s the year you get laid off and have a big medical expense

It pretty much will put in a position where you have to sell or refi in 10 years


Who the heck knows it like either of those markets (refi or RE) will be in 2031?

And yes you should always try to s Solicit advice  from professionals, you typically get what you pay for.  If it’s too good to be true it probably is

(Although I would have said  2.5% on a 30 yr fixed would have been too good to be true, but for a few brief months it was freely available)

Starsky wrote:
Anyways typically she doesn’t pick up but she has told a few our current rate of 2.62 or some such and they usually say they can’t beat it but “Loan Depot” says they can do 2.25% for ten years (the kind of rate you get on a 15 year) and then you go back to market rate up to 7.2%…

7.2%???  is that a typo?  because if it isn't, this is a damn scam.


your idea of getting out before that insane rate hits is a decent one, but i'd check the fine print of this offer.  methinks there is something in there to ensure they get you some other way if you cut bait before the big rate hits…

sweetcell wrote:
but i'd check the fine print of this offer.  methinks there is something in there to ensure they get you some other way if you cut bait before the big rate hits…

I'm no expert, but those type of loans don't really exist anymore.  Not sure if they made a law against it, but 'typically' there is no prepayment penalty on mortgages.  (I'm sure they exist still, but are rare)

They get you because most people think they are going to be smart and avoid the ballon, but then life happened and you are like 'Oh shit my payments just went up $700 and rates are at 5.5 now"

But you should always read the fine print on the terms of the loan.  By law there is a one-pager that details all the components of the loan.
Definitely try to understand the closing costs, there are certain things the lender has no impact on (VA transfer tax is a fun line item), but many others you can shop around (Title co, title insurance) and save close to $1000 on closing

IMO, get a lender who will do in-home closings.  Going to a title company office and spending 2 hours is a real pain, but at your kitchen table isn't that bad.  But I will add there is one big risk is the person closing
the person doing the closing is pretty much a fancy notary, so don't expect them to know all the answers on the documents.  But most of them are legally required, so it's not like you don't have an option not to sign them to get the loan

I really don't like balloon payments, risk is so high and you are not saving 'that much'
only way they work is you 100% plan to flip/sell the house in a short period of time and you just want the lowest payment you can get for a few years

Also, for god's sake work with a real bank… not the "loan depot."

That should be red flags right there.

FYI..rates seem to be coming down again
if you haven't done the refi yet, you may be able to get in the 2.625-2.75% range now!

Hutch…ahem, starsky…. we are happy with our current rate which we didn’t even have to refinance to get..
I forgot you had some weird option from your current lender to just drop the rate
so unless rates go way lower, going to be hard to imagine doing any better than you have

Once again operators are standing by please call


1 800 sidefi

The number is


1 800 sidefi

We decided to be lazy and hire "professionals" to power wash and paint our deck.

We hired a company in the Fall to do it. They never got the job done. A series of bad weather days and workers having their relatives die. We ended up giving up as it got too cold.

So we hired someone else in the Spring. After a round of bad weather, they were supposed to come on Tuesday, but had to postpone because  "the project manager got fired." So they sent two guys over yesterday and did the power washing and said they'd be back between 8 and 8:30 today to do the painting.

So 9:30 rolls around and nobody has shown up or called, so i email them. Apparently, when they went to pick up the base and the paint this morning, the paint store didn't have the base, though they got the paint. So they're running around store to store to get the base, and as far as i know, still don't have it.

The base is something generic and not specific to this job. Wouldn't it make sense to always have it on hand?

So lunchtime rolls around, and I go on a run. And the company owner FINALLY calls. And when he hears my wife's voice, he promptly hangs up. And she redialed him and LET HIM HAVE IT. I wish i had been there to hear it.

Anyway, I'm learning maybe it's better to just do the low level grunt work yourself.

actually we dropped the 1800 number and are only accepting applications via the 930 forum Messaging

The Cobain / Love house is up for grabs for a cool million:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6881-Alta-Loma-Ter-Los-Angeles-CA-90068/2070895288_zpid/