[UCGal]

I have a coworker who put 20% down – and can’t get a good refi because the LTV is about 90% now… so PMI kicks in. He’s got great credit. Never missed a payment, wants to take advantage of the lower rates but the PMI keeps the payment the same, so it’s not really worth it.

I guess I’d have less of an issue with this plan if it doesn’t extend the terms of the loan. The problem with serial refinancing is you keep restarting that 30 year mark…

I’d also insist on credit checks – and only offer this to folks with good credit/income.

Just apply the new interest to the loan for all candidates that pass credit checks.

Heck – I could keep my exact same interest rate and refi about $700 off my payment. Just by refi’ing from my 15 year to a 30 year. Extending the end date may help with monthly cash flow, but it doesn’t help retire the debt.

I agree with some of the other posts about the big problem with the economy being jobs.

[UCGal]

I have a coworker who put 20% down – and can’t get a good refi because the LTV is about 90% now… so PMI kicks in. He’s got great credit. Never missed a payment, wants to take advantage of the lower rates but the PMI keeps the payment the same, so it’s not really worth it.

I guess I’d have less of an issue with this plan if it doesn’t extend the terms of the loan. The problem with serial refinancing is you keep restarting that 30 year mark…

I’d also insist on credit checks – and only offer this to folks with good credit/income.

Just apply the new interest to the loan for all candidates that pass credit checks.

Heck – I could keep my exact same interest rate and refi about $700 off my payment. Just by refi’ing from my 15 year to a 30 year. Extending the end date may help with monthly cash flow, but it doesn’t help retire the debt.

I agree with some of the other posts about the big problem with the economy being jobs.

[UCGal]

I have a coworker who put 20% down – and can’t get a good refi because the LTV is about 90% now… so PMI kicks in. He’s got great credit. Never missed a payment, wants to take advantage of the lower rates but the PMI keeps the payment the same, so it’s not really worth it.

I guess I’d have less of an issue with this plan if it doesn’t extend the terms of the loan. The problem with serial refinancing is you keep restarting that 30 year mark…

I’d also insist on credit checks – and only offer this to folks with good credit/income.

Just apply the new interest to the loan for all candidates that pass credit checks.

Heck – I could keep my exact same interest rate and refi about $700 off my payment. Just by refi’ing from my 15 year to a 30 year. Extending the end date may help with monthly cash flow, but it doesn’t help retire the debt.

I agree with some of the other posts about the big problem with the economy being jobs.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.

Civil and structural engineering are harder to outsource since they have to be able to be at a job site. That said – who knows when large development will kick back in – civil is all about dirt, grading, water, etc. Structural is everything from retaining walls, to support beams in buildings. Both civil and structural seem to charge high fees (at least it appears that way from a consumer point of view – we had a civil and 2 structural engineers on our casita.)

Petroleum engineering was mentioned – but what about Geology. You can have careers in the oil/nat’l gas field – or do soil reports for building. So there are multiple career paths.

The other fields, depending on how motivated a student. Nursing – especially if you go for nurse practitioner… cheaper than getting an MD, but lower future salary potential. Physicians Assistant – much shorter school commitment, but only a few schools have programs. More demand for PA’s and NP’s to contain healthcare costs.

If your son is really motivated – along the nursing line… but teaching… Get a PhD in nursing. There is a HUGE shortage of nurse educators. My stepmom is a Phd nurse and they won’t let her quit/retire. It’s a field with HUGE demand.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.

Civil and structural engineering are harder to outsource since they have to be able to be at a job site. That said – who knows when large development will kick back in – civil is all about dirt, grading, water, etc. Structural is everything from retaining walls, to support beams in buildings. Both civil and structural seem to charge high fees (at least it appears that way from a consumer point of view – we had a civil and 2 structural engineers on our casita.)

Petroleum engineering was mentioned – but what about Geology. You can have careers in the oil/nat’l gas field – or do soil reports for building. So there are multiple career paths.

The other fields, depending on how motivated a student. Nursing – especially if you go for nurse practitioner… cheaper than getting an MD, but lower future salary potential. Physicians Assistant – much shorter school commitment, but only a few schools have programs. More demand for PA’s and NP’s to contain healthcare costs.

If your son is really motivated – along the nursing line… but teaching… Get a PhD in nursing. There is a HUGE shortage of nurse educators. My stepmom is a Phd nurse and they won’t let her quit/retire. It’s a field with HUGE demand.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.

Civil and structural engineering are harder to outsource since they have to be able to be at a job site. That said – who knows when large development will kick back in – civil is all about dirt, grading, water, etc. Structural is everything from retaining walls, to support beams in buildings. Both civil and structural seem to charge high fees (at least it appears that way from a consumer point of view – we had a civil and 2 structural engineers on our casita.)

Petroleum engineering was mentioned – but what about Geology. You can have careers in the oil/nat’l gas field – or do soil reports for building. So there are multiple career paths.

The other fields, depending on how motivated a student. Nursing – especially if you go for nurse practitioner… cheaper than getting an MD, but lower future salary potential. Physicians Assistant – much shorter school commitment, but only a few schools have programs. More demand for PA’s and NP’s to contain healthcare costs.

If your son is really motivated – along the nursing line… but teaching… Get a PhD in nursing. There is a HUGE shortage of nurse educators. My stepmom is a Phd nurse and they won’t let her quit/retire. It’s a field with HUGE demand.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.

Civil and structural engineering are harder to outsource since they have to be able to be at a job site. That said – who knows when large development will kick back in – civil is all about dirt, grading, water, etc. Structural is everything from retaining walls, to support beams in buildings. Both civil and structural seem to charge high fees (at least it appears that way from a consumer point of view – we had a civil and 2 structural engineers on our casita.)

Petroleum engineering was mentioned – but what about Geology. You can have careers in the oil/nat’l gas field – or do soil reports for building. So there are multiple career paths.

The other fields, depending on how motivated a student. Nursing – especially if you go for nurse practitioner… cheaper than getting an MD, but lower future salary potential. Physicians Assistant – much shorter school commitment, but only a few schools have programs. More demand for PA’s and NP’s to contain healthcare costs.

If your son is really motivated – along the nursing line… but teaching… Get a PhD in nursing. There is a HUGE shortage of nurse educators. My stepmom is a Phd nurse and they won’t let her quit/retire. It’s a field with HUGE demand.

[UCGal]

[quote=AN][quote=maybe]Electrical Eng: It is hard to go wrong with EE. They are always in demand, but it may be a little too abstract for a kid who likes to touch things. Math is life and death in this field– if you can’t do it, you die.[/quote]
I can personally vouch for this statement. But the demand is much less than CS. Out of the handful of EE friends that I still keep in touch with, only 2 are doing EE related work. One is doing PM (Project Management) and 5 are doing CS work.[/quote]
EE’s mostly end up doing software or embedded software. (Raising my hand as an example)

Personally, I’d be looking at it from a few perspectives… what is easily outsourced vs what is harder to be outsourced.

Civil and structural engineering are harder to outsource since they have to be able to be at a job site. That said – who knows when large development will kick back in – civil is all about dirt, grading, water, etc. Structural is everything from retaining walls, to support beams in buildings. Both civil and structural seem to charge high fees (at least it appears that way from a consumer point of view – we had a civil and 2 structural engineers on our casita.)

Petroleum engineering was mentioned – but what about Geology. You can have careers in the oil/nat’l gas field – or do soil reports for building. So there are multiple career paths.

The other fields, depending on how motivated a student. Nursing – especially if you go for nurse practitioner… cheaper than getting an MD, but lower future salary potential. Physicians Assistant – much shorter school commitment, but only a few schools have programs. More demand for PA’s and NP’s to contain healthcare costs.

If your son is really motivated – along the nursing line… but teaching… Get a PhD in nursing. There is a HUGE shortage of nurse educators. My stepmom is a Phd nurse and they won’t let her quit/retire. It’s a field with HUGE demand.

[UCGal]

[quote=flu]This depends on whether this bill is water usage charge only or if it’s water usage + water fixed costs + sewage costs.

$200 for all three in two months is roughly my water usage+fixed costs + sewage costs.

My august bill consisted of the past two months included

$39 water base fee (pipe size 3/4″)
$79 water usage fee
$33 sewer base fee
$81 sewer usage fee
$2 storm drain fee
$13 credit

So roughly $221/every two months

My water usage was 21 HCF. The water company feels i should only be using 14 HCF, so charged me 7 HCF at a higher rate. So I was charged $51 for the first 14 HCF and $27 for the last 7 HCF.

1 HCF = 748 gallons.

My observation was that conserving water usage really doesn’t reduce your bill in a meaningful way. Don’t get me wrong, conserving water is a good thing in itself. It’s just isn’t not really saving that much money. The majority of my bill is in the other charges.[/quote]

I don’t think they’re saying that you should only use 14 HCF. Just that this is the amount in the lowest rate tier. The rates step up.

The vast majority of San Diegans are into the second tier – and those with the golf course lawns, lots of water features and pools, etc… probably kick into the third tier.

Here’s some more data points… Since Piggington is all about the data.

We had the same usage as you for the May bill when my inlaws were in the granny flat (they’re visiting other family for the summer). So our single bill for both the granny flat and casita was for a household of 4 adults, 2 kids, 10k sf yard. This summer we’ve had my step niece and her family living in the granny flat, while they remodel their house – so instead of 2 adults, it’s 2 adults and 2 kids under 3. Hello laundry!!! So the bill kicked up to 25 HCF.

Our yard is mostly trees, drought tolerant ground cover, and mulch, not much grass. We do drip irrigation, recycle the water from our outdoor shower to water the trees, etc.

But I agree that the fixed costs are a big percentage
Here’s our fixed (non usage) costs:
– $38.66 for the 3/4″ line
– $32.56 sewer base
– ($1.90) sewer base credit
– ($6.70) sewer settlement credit
– ($3.02) sewer service settlement
– 1.90 for the storm drain.

It match’s flu’s.

and the usage costs:
– $93.66 water
– $51.77 sewer (based on water usage)

(Interesting that FLU’s sewer usage was higher than the water usage. I don’t know how that’s possible. As far as I know they don’t monitor sewer output. LOL.)

[UCGal]

[quote=flu]This depends on whether this bill is water usage charge only or if it’s water usage + water fixed costs + sewage costs.

$200 for all three in two months is roughly my water usage+fixed costs + sewage costs.

My august bill consisted of the past two months included

$39 water base fee (pipe size 3/4″)
$79 water usage fee
$33 sewer base fee
$81 sewer usage fee
$2 storm drain fee
$13 credit

So roughly $221/every two months

My water usage was 21 HCF. The water company feels i should only be using 14 HCF, so charged me 7 HCF at a higher rate. So I was charged $51 for the first 14 HCF and $27 for the last 7 HCF.

1 HCF = 748 gallons.

My observation was that conserving water usage really doesn’t reduce your bill in a meaningful way. Don’t get me wrong, conserving water is a good thing in itself. It’s just isn’t not really saving that much money. The majority of my bill is in the other charges.[/quote]

I don’t think they’re saying that you should only use 14 HCF. Just that this is the amount in the lowest rate tier. The rates step up.

The vast majority of San Diegans are into the second tier – and those with the golf course lawns, lots of water features and pools, etc… probably kick into the third tier.

Here’s some more data points… Since Piggington is all about the data.

We had the same usage as you for the May bill when my inlaws were in the granny flat (they’re visiting other family for the summer). So our single bill for both the granny flat and casita was for a household of 4 adults, 2 kids, 10k sf yard. This summer we’ve had my step niece and her family living in the granny flat, while they remodel their house – so instead of 2 adults, it’s 2 adults and 2 kids under 3. Hello laundry!!! So the bill kicked up to 25 HCF.

Our yard is mostly trees, drought tolerant ground cover, and mulch, not much grass. We do drip irrigation, recycle the water from our outdoor shower to water the trees, etc.

But I agree that the fixed costs are a big percentage
Here’s our fixed (non usage) costs:
– $38.66 for the 3/4″ line
– $32.56 sewer base
– ($1.90) sewer base credit
– ($6.70) sewer settlement credit
– ($3.02) sewer service settlement
– 1.90 for the storm drain.

It match’s flu’s.

and the usage costs:
– $93.66 water
– $51.77 sewer (based on water usage)

(Interesting that FLU’s sewer usage was higher than the water usage. I don’t know how that’s possible. As far as I know they don’t monitor sewer output. LOL.)

[UCGal]

[quote=flu]This depends on whether this bill is water usage charge only or if it’s water usage + water fixed costs + sewage costs.

$200 for all three in two months is roughly my water usage+fixed costs + sewage costs.

My august bill consisted of the past two months included

$39 water base fee (pipe size 3/4″)
$79 water usage fee
$33 sewer base fee
$81 sewer usage fee
$2 storm drain fee
$13 credit

So roughly $221/every two months

My water usage was 21 HCF. The water company feels i should only be using 14 HCF, so charged me 7 HCF at a higher rate. So I was charged $51 for the first 14 HCF and $27 for the last 7 HCF.

1 HCF = 748 gallons.

My observation was that conserving water usage really doesn’t reduce your bill in a meaningful way. Don’t get me wrong, conserving water is a good thing in itself. It’s just isn’t not really saving that much money. The majority of my bill is in the other charges.[/quote]

I don’t think they’re saying that you should only use 14 HCF. Just that this is the amount in the lowest rate tier. The rates step up.

The vast majority of San Diegans are into the second tier – and those with the golf course lawns, lots of water features and pools, etc… probably kick into the third tier.

Here’s some more data points… Since Piggington is all about the data.

We had the same usage as you for the May bill when my inlaws were in the granny flat (they’re visiting other family for the summer). So our single bill for both the granny flat and casita was for a household of 4 adults, 2 kids, 10k sf yard. This summer we’ve had my step niece and her family living in the granny flat, while they remodel their house – so instead of 2 adults, it’s 2 adults and 2 kids under 3. Hello laundry!!! So the bill kicked up to 25 HCF.

Our yard is mostly trees, drought tolerant ground cover, and mulch, not much grass. We do drip irrigation, recycle the water from our outdoor shower to water the trees, etc.

But I agree that the fixed costs are a big percentage
Here’s our fixed (non usage) costs:
– $38.66 for the 3/4″ line
– $32.56 sewer base
– ($1.90) sewer base credit
– ($6.70) sewer settlement credit
– ($3.02) sewer service settlement
– 1.90 for the storm drain.

It match’s flu’s.

and the usage costs:
– $93.66 water
– $51.77 sewer (based on water usage)

(Interesting that FLU’s sewer usage was higher than the water usage. I don’t know how that’s possible. As far as I know they don’t monitor sewer output. LOL.)

[UCGal]

[quote=flu]This depends on whether this bill is water usage charge only or if it’s water usage + water fixed costs + sewage costs.

$200 for all three in two months is roughly my water usage+fixed costs + sewage costs.

My august bill consisted of the past two months included

$39 water base fee (pipe size 3/4″)
$79 water usage fee
$33 sewer base fee
$81 sewer usage fee
$2 storm drain fee
$13 credit

So roughly $221/every two months

My water usage was 21 HCF. The water company feels i should only be using 14 HCF, so charged me 7 HCF at a higher rate. So I was charged $51 for the first 14 HCF and $27 for the last 7 HCF.

1 HCF = 748 gallons.

My observation was that conserving water usage really doesn’t reduce your bill in a meaningful way. Don’t get me wrong, conserving water is a good thing in itself. It’s just isn’t not really saving that much money. The majority of my bill is in the other charges.[/quote]

I don’t think they’re saying that you should only use 14 HCF. Just that this is the amount in the lowest rate tier. The rates step up.

The vast majority of San Diegans are into the second tier – and those with the golf course lawns, lots of water features and pools, etc… probably kick into the third tier.

Here’s some more data points… Since Piggington is all about the data.

We had the same usage as you for the May bill when my inlaws were in the granny flat (they’re visiting other family for the summer). So our single bill for both the granny flat and casita was for a household of 4 adults, 2 kids, 10k sf yard. This summer we’ve had my step niece and her family living in the granny flat, while they remodel their house – so instead of 2 adults, it’s 2 adults and 2 kids under 3. Hello laundry!!! So the bill kicked up to 25 HCF.

Our yard is mostly trees, drought tolerant ground cover, and mulch, not much grass. We do drip irrigation, recycle the water from our outdoor shower to water the trees, etc.

But I agree that the fixed costs are a big percentage
Here’s our fixed (non usage) costs:
– $38.66 for the 3/4″ line
– $32.56 sewer base
– ($1.90) sewer base credit
– ($6.70) sewer settlement credit
– ($3.02) sewer service settlement
– 1.90 for the storm drain.

It match’s flu’s.

and the usage costs:
– $93.66 water
– $51.77 sewer (based on water usage)

(Interesting that FLU’s sewer usage was higher than the water usage. I don’t know how that’s possible. As far as I know they don’t monitor sewer output. LOL.)

[UCGal]

[quote=flu]This depends on whether this bill is water usage charge only or if it’s water usage + water fixed costs + sewage costs.

$200 for all three in two months is roughly my water usage+fixed costs + sewage costs.

My august bill consisted of the past two months included

$39 water base fee (pipe size 3/4″)
$79 water usage fee
$33 sewer base fee
$81 sewer usage fee
$2 storm drain fee
$13 credit

So roughly $221/every two months

My water usage was 21 HCF. The water company feels i should only be using 14 HCF, so charged me 7 HCF at a higher rate. So I was charged $51 for the first 14 HCF and $27 for the last 7 HCF.

1 HCF = 748 gallons.

My observation was that conserving water usage really doesn’t reduce your bill in a meaningful way. Don’t get me wrong, conserving water is a good thing in itself. It’s just isn’t not really saving that much money. The majority of my bill is in the other charges.[/quote]

I don’t think they’re saying that you should only use 14 HCF. Just that this is the amount in the lowest rate tier. The rates step up.

The vast majority of San Diegans are into the second tier – and those with the golf course lawns, lots of water features and pools, etc… probably kick into the third tier.

Here’s some more data points… Since Piggington is all about the data.

We had the same usage as you for the May bill when my inlaws were in the granny flat (they’re visiting other family for the summer). So our single bill for both the granny flat and casita was for a household of 4 adults, 2 kids, 10k sf yard. This summer we’ve had my step niece and her family living in the granny flat, while they remodel their house – so instead of 2 adults, it’s 2 adults and 2 kids under 3. Hello laundry!!! So the bill kicked up to 25 HCF.

Our yard is mostly trees, drought tolerant ground cover, and mulch, not much grass. We do drip irrigation, recycle the water from our outdoor shower to water the trees, etc.

But I agree that the fixed costs are a big percentage
Here’s our fixed (non usage) costs:
– $38.66 for the 3/4″ line
– $32.56 sewer base
– ($1.90) sewer base credit
– ($6.70) sewer settlement credit
– ($3.02) sewer service settlement
– 1.90 for the storm drain.

It match’s flu’s.

and the usage costs:
– $93.66 water
– $51.77 sewer (based on water usage)

(Interesting that FLU’s sewer usage was higher than the water usage. I don’t know how that’s possible. As far as I know they don’t monitor sewer output. LOL.)

[UCGal]

[quote=jpinpb]Refinishing a pool could cost about 2500.
Paint inside and out.
Stone decoration on the garage front
Removing trees, that can add up.
Not much done to the kitchen, added tile and paint, but not electrical canned lighting and no fancy stove.
New carpet.
New bathroom cabinets at HD.
I wouldn’t pay 100k extra for it. That’s just me.[/quote]
* They took down the faux brick in the kitchen. Who knows what the walls were like under it… so possible drywall work there.
* They added appliances – previous listing was missing stove and fridge. Not high end… but something is better than nothing.
* They removed the screened porch thing – restoring it to just a covered patio, non enclosed. Pretty simple demo, but a good move.
* They removed the bars from the windows.
* They got rid of the oleander in the front. (Something I think jp can relate too iirc). Cleaning up the yard was probably at least $1k, maybe more.

All told they probably spent around 30-50k. But a lot of buyers want things “done” and are unwilling to do the work themselves, or hire folks to do the work.

As far as flips go – at least this one adds some value… A lot of flips just relist and jack the prices up

Keep in mind this was listed at trustee auction for $350k (and didn’t sell)… so the $290k was a bank listed foreclosure sale.

[UCGal]

[quote=jpinpb]Refinishing a pool could cost about 2500.
Paint inside and out.
Stone decoration on the garage front
Removing trees, that can add up.
Not much done to the kitchen, added tile and paint, but not electrical canned lighting and no fancy stove.
New carpet.
New bathroom cabinets at HD.
I wouldn’t pay 100k extra for it. That’s just me.[/quote]
* They took down the faux brick in the kitchen. Who knows what the walls were like under it… so possible drywall work there.
* They added appliances – previous listing was missing stove and fridge. Not high end… but something is better than nothing.
* They removed the screened porch thing – restoring it to just a covered patio, non enclosed. Pretty simple demo, but a good move.
* They removed the bars from the windows.
* They got rid of the oleander in the front. (Something I think jp can relate too iirc). Cleaning up the yard was probably at least $1k, maybe more.

All told they probably spent around 30-50k. But a lot of buyers want things “done” and are unwilling to do the work themselves, or hire folks to do the work.

As far as flips go – at least this one adds some value… A lot of flips just relist and jack the prices up

Keep in mind this was listed at trustee auction for $350k (and didn’t sell)… so the $290k was a bank listed foreclosure sale.

[Author]

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