[moneymaker]

My house is fine BG, what irks me is that the bank has absolutely no risk at this point on my place. Right now it would easily sell for 20% more than I currently owe on it, and I mean like tomorrow I could sell it for that, so if the bank has a 20% buffer tell me how they are risking anything. I did just install a Pergola on my back patio and I’m going to paint it along with 4 andirondack chairs to match the trim of the house.

[moneymaker]

I will put it out there that I think paying for mortgage insurance is the biggest rip off going. If the risk was put on the banks then they may not have been such extravagant lenders during the bubble days.
“Mortgage insurance began in the United States in the 1880s, and the first law on it was passed in New York in 1904. The industry grew in response to the 1920s real estate bubble and was “entirely bankrupted” after the Great Depression. The bankruptcy was related to the industry’s involvement in “mortgage pools”, an early practice similar to mortgage securitization. The federal government began insuring mortgages in 1934 through the Federal Housing Administration and Veteran’s Administration, but after the Great Depression no private mortgage insurance was authorized in the United States until 1956, when Wisconsin passed a law allowing the first post-Depression insurer, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, to be chartered. This was followed by a California law in 1961 which would become the standard for other states’ mortgage insurance laws. Eventually the National Association of Insurance Commissioners created a model law.
In 1998 the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998 came into effect in 1999 as a federal law of the United States, which requires automatic termination of mortgage insurance in certain cases for homeowners when the loan-to-value on the home reaches 78%; prior to the law, homeowners had limited recourse to cancel and by one estimate, 250,000 homeowners were paying for unnecessary mortgage insurance. Similar state laws existed in eight states at the time of its passage; in 2000, a lawsuit by Eliot Spitzer resulted in refunds due to mortgage insurers lack of compliance with a 1984 New York state law which required insurers to stop charging homeowners after a certain point. These laws may continue to apply; for example, the New York law provides “broader protection”.
For Federal Housing Administration-insured loans, the cancellation requirements may be more difficult.”

[moneymaker]

Yes my bust I meant 75% loan to value. I suspect if prices keep going up I will be @ 80% in a few months, however it might take another year to be @ 75% or we could go into another dip before then. I suspect my gut feeling is I will refi into a 15 year just to get rid of the PMI, not with US bank however. Or if I feel real nasty I will push them to honor their contract with me.

[moneymaker]

That’s good info Emily! Makes me even more motivated to stick a whirlybird on the roof of my garage, because it sure gets hot, especially in the summer.

[moneymaker]

I personally would hook up a Kill A Watt meter (can be found @ Costco or GTM) to be sure the older frig is as bad as you think it is. We have a 10Cu. ft freezer in our garage (was a scratch-n-dent from GTM) that works great for us. My wife always manages to keep it full.

[moneymaker]

I suppose maybe the best way to film things is with a hidden camera like on 20/20. Perhaps one of these might come in handy http://www.frys.com/product/6679064?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

[moneymaker]

I’m out of the market now, other than 401K plan, that is. I’m afraid to get back in though. Every time I sell a stock it keeps going up and yet I still seem to make money every time, so I’m guessing a monkey could have made a profit just as easily as I have, which is scary!

[moneymaker]

I think we are slowly being stripped of our constitutional rights, and the government starts with those least likely/able to resist, the homeless, the imprisoned, the poor, the uneducated. I have a half brother who is in jail(perhaps rightly so) and he cannot talk, write or E-mail without being recorded,read , or intercepted. Seems to me that would be unreasoned search and seizure as well.

[moneymaker]

I totally agree about the commercials, they seem to be getting worse and more unbearable. That’s one reason I watch channels(most of the time) that don’t have them. History channel is a pretty good about not going overboard, even PBS can get nauseating with the constant begging for money. Ok I take it back about History channel, i guess I just really don’t pay that much attention to tv, it’s just background noise most of the time.

[moneymaker]

If the complex is mostly older people forget about teaching them how to steal with bit torrent. As far as sports or news is concerned I don’t think the internet is there yet. Sounds like you are getting cable at half price, do you seriously think the HOA is going to reduce your monthly HOA fees after stopping the bulk cable? Think again, if I were you I would stop complaining.

[moneymaker]

[quote=bearishgurl]

I agree with all of this. The summer of 2010 (after the tax credits expired) until the spring of 2012 (and maybe later, if using all cash) was a great time to buy both investment RE and a residence in SD County.

I’m looking forward to Rich’s upcoming graphs, as well.[/quote]

Actually I think the best time to buy was in the Spring of 2009 with the $8000 tax cedit, as I was fortunate enough to do.

[moneymaker]

Since most stocks are owned by the rich, I’m doing my part to take their money. Totally agree with most of the posts here. I’m currently trading stocks manually with limit orders, anybody here trading using software and is it working for you? I don’t see myself making it into the 1% group by trading stocks like Warren Buffet did, but I figure I do make minimum wage,so it’s like a second job without the labor intensive stuff.

[moneymaker]

The 30 year is @ 3.20 now I think it will be @ 3.75 by years end. AAPL is paying 2.50% @ today price, not as high as I think it should be but then they don’t really need anybody’s cash now do they. I’m hoping it will pop a little when they announce the iPhone 5s in a few weeks.

[moneymaker]

I do think interest rates could rise in the near term. However my play today was swapping HPQ for some AAPL, anybody think that was good/bad call?

[moneymaker]

I remember hearing that if one buys a 4-plex and lives in one of the units then owner occupied rates can be gotten, seems like a good way to try the water for those that are so inclined.

[Author]

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