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The point on closing costs is not necessarily true. Be careful when comparing quotes, as usually if the lender promises no closing costs, they are bundled in the loan or you have a higher interest rate.

Thanks all for the assistance. We are dealing with a mortgage broker now, and he assured us that our actual closing costs are around $2200. The rest is credited to us, and not included in the loan or APR.

Depends on personal factors like credit score, locale/state etc to know for sure. I did take a look on Amerisave and plugged in your last appraised value of home and the size of loan you are seeking. Assuming excellent credit, I got an estimate of 3.125% rate, 3.574% (APR) w $4,800 total closing co...

My wife and I bought our home in 2009 for $141,000, and are in the process of refinancing for the first time. We currently have a 30-year fixed mortgage at 5.5%. Current loan balance is $124,000. We just received a GFE for a 30-year fixed at 3.625%, with total estimated settlement charges of $4,663....

Thank you all for the advice. It is similar to what the mortgage brokers I have spoken to have offered.

I will be looking to refinance into a conventional loan, bringing just enough to the table at closing to eliminate PMI moving forward.

Thanks again!

Hello, My wife and I are finally getting around to refinancing our home. Fortunately, interest rates are still very low. We purchased the home in 2009 (admittedly with only 3.5% down payment) for $141,000, and currently have a 30-year fixed rate FHA loan of $124,000 at 5.5%. The house will appraise ...

Sorry to hear of your loss. Try Vanguard again, and be sure they understand that you want to open an INHERITED IRA or INHERITED ROTH IRA (if you want to convert it), to receive the 403b direct rollover. In your prior conversation, they might have though you wanted to open an inherited 403b, not an ...

JH said it was their policy that I could not change "the line of business" from a 403(b) to an Inherited IRA. I am unsure even how to proceed from that? Any suggestions?

MN,

I did attempt to change the account to an Inherited IRA at John Hancock, but they would not allow it.

Hello, I recently inherited a 403(b) from my deceased mother. The account is at John Hancock, and I am attempting to move the assets to Vanguard. However, I am running into some issues. John Hancock will not allow me to retitle the account to an Inherited IRA, and Vanguard does not accept Inherited ...

Thank you so much for all of the information. It is very helpful! Our AGI is currently in the $125,000 - $150,000 range, so I suppose it is possible we could reach the future Roth thresholds. If I'm understanding correcttly, If we were to move my wife's 401(k) to an IRA at Vanguard, we would no long...

Any old 401k or 403b can be rolled into an IRA (once you no longer work there). I'm not sure what you mean about only doing it one time. The IRA at Vanguard could then be rolled to an IRA at Fidelity or Schwab or even be rolled into her next 401k/403b if the new plan allows it. No, it would be an I...

Thank you both for the advice. I did not realize that we could move my wife's 401(k) into an IRA at Vanguard. Are there rules that would limit that type of rollover? I assume we could only do it one time? That account would not then be considered a taxable account? I would love to be able to make th...

The funds we have selected are the lowest ER index funds that are offered in each respective 401(k). I was curious more as to whether we should look to fill the bond aspect of my AA in our Roth IRA's vs. my 401(k)?

I updated with investment descriptions above.

To clarify, my wife's 401(k) is from a previous employer...her current employer offers a pension system. There is also a 403 (b) available, but the investment options are not as good as those in my 401(k). There is also no match on the 403(b). Therefore, since we are not maximizing our contributions...

I would absolutely be open to changing allocations within existing accounts. The accounts I have chosen in our 401(k) are the lowest expense ratio, index accounts available to us. We decided to fill our Int'l allocation in our Roth since we did not have better options for Int'l in our 401(k)s. I am ...

My wife and I are both 32 years old, and have the following portfolio for retirement: Wife's 401(k) $21,500 PLFIX (0.17) Principal Large Cap S&P 500 Index $5,800 MPSIX (0.27) Principal Mid Cap S&P 400 Index $3,000 PSSIX (0.30) Principal Small Cap S&P 600 Index My 401(k) $15,600 WFIOX (0....

Essentially, aren't I inheriting my Mother's IRA in the form of a pension? I am curious as to whether I can have that money transferred to either my existing 401(k) or Roth IRA? Or would I need to create a new IRA that would be taxable? I am currently not maxing out my 401(k), so there is room for m...

I recently inherited a pension due to the death of a parent, and could use some guidance on how I should handle the disbursement. I do not have an immediate need for the money, so I would like to keep it as tax sheltered as possible. The pension is with the Michigan Public School Employees Retiremen...

This is exactly what I was looking for. I didn't realize that a conversion did not first sell the shares before repurchasing, and that is in fact a conversion with previous cost bases preserved!

Thanks for the replies. I guess my main question is whether I would lose some of the dollar cost averaging from my previous purchases by making a conversion? I've made purchases at various price levels (some higher, some lower than current price). If I convert everything to Admiral shares today, the...

Hello, This may be a somewhat basic question, but I am considering converting my International equity holdings to Admiral shares. I was curious if current market price should be considered when making a conversion. For example, I have just over $10,000 invested in VGTSX, with the following purchases...

From what I understand, the retirement accounts and pension transferred to me as beneficiary, therefore avoiding probate. I have a call into Mom's estate attorney to determine what exactly was placed in the trust. I do know that she did not transfer title on the property though. Should the estate at...

Hello again, I posted earlier today looking for advice on a recent inheritance from my Mother, who passed away three months ago. I got some great advice (par for the course on this board!), and thought I would post about the remaining inheritance, hopefully to get some valuable advice. I am the sole...

Thanks all for your replies. To answer an earlier question, the cash and retirement accounts were not in the trust. I was the beneficiary on them. The house, however, is in the trust. I will be contacting her estate attorney tomorrow morning, but appreciate the insights. This will help with my conve...

It was my understanding that I would not have to go through probate, since she had set up a trust. The $75,000 is cash that she had in her savings account. I established an estate account to pay the bills with that money since her death (it's been 3 months).

Retirement Accounts: $160,000 Who is the beneficiary? If the estate, then these funds are available to pay the debts of the estate. If they passed directly to you as the beneficiary, then I don't know what federal law says vs what state law says about recovery by the estate or by holders of estate ...

My name is not on the mortgage. However, I am her only child, and the sole executor and inheritor of her estate.

The SEV values it at just over $100,000. I think it could take some time, but likely would sell between $80 - $100k. It was purchased for $123,000 in 2006.

To clarify, here are a few more details: The remaining mortgage is $102,000. The inheritance is roughly the following: Cash: $75,000 Retirement Accounts: $160,000 So, there are more assets in the estate than the remaining balance of the mortgage. I am the sole heir to the estate, and was just curiou...

Hello, I recently inherited a home when my Mother passed away, and it is borderline whether the mortgage is underwater or not. However, it is questionable that I will be able to sell the house for what is owed. I am an only child, and the sole executor of her estate. There is money in the estate to ...

I will pose the SS question - nothing has been mentioned as to not being able to receive it along with the DB option, or of any effect it would have on my spouse's SS rate. Thanks for the info - it certainly doesn't hurt to ask!

I just got off the phone with the pension group, and have a few more answers! The representative said that at this time, the fund is 100% fully funded. It is not guaranteed by PBGC because it is a public pension. He referred me to this info on the plan's website which helped to clarify: -------- Mic...

I don't think I ever stated that I thought the company had a 75% chance of survival. The pension plan is a collection of municipal entities, so not just through one employer. I just did a bit more research based on the earlier replies, and found the following: The plan has $6.6 billion in Net Assets...

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. I have been digging a little deeper into the plan, and still have some unanswered questions regarding whether it is fully funded. It is a state plan, so there could be an issue there. However, the plan is COLA'd at a 2.5% rate that is cumulative, not compou...

Also, is there a way to figure out the equivalent return necessary to equal the pension payout?

Thanks for the quick reply.

Does it matter how long I stay there? Is there a minimum amount of time (other than the 5-year vesting period) that I should consider a "break even?"

I recently started a new job that offers a choice between a pension and a defined contribution plan (similar to a 401k), and was curious what you would recommend choosing? Some background on my financials and the plan options: 30yo married couple Current 401k (total): $67,000 Current Roth (total): $...

I rent often and feel that it offers significant savings in my situation. I always go through Enterprise, as I have found the cheapest rates there. My car is an older SUV that has over 200,000 miles, and only gets around 15 MPG average. I can rent from Enterprise for around $12.44/day (current rates...

Some quick background...my mother passed away due to cancer in early March. She had a supplemental cancer policy through AFLAC, but never filed claims for any of her unreimbursed expenses. She does have the appropriate paperwork from her doctors confirming diagnosis, etc. I plan to call them today t...

Hello, My Mom recently passed away unexpectedly, and my wife and I have been working through her estate. She did have a trust, and I was sole beneficiary on all accounts, so that part is as smooth as we could have hoped for. My questions for the board revolve around what to do with the investments t...

Thanks MikeP, The 15-year was quoted at 3.25%, but would increase our payment roughly $150 - $175/month. I do realize we have been paying more than that as it is ($1,300/month), but I value the flexibility of being able to lower that payment in the future if necessary. It just doesn't seem like ther...

Hello, I am looking into refinancing our home, and would like some advice on whether to move forward or not. We bought our home in Oct 2009 for $141,000, and put 3.5% down (before we were Bogleheads!) on a 30-year FHA mortgage at 5.5% ($138,000 mortgage amount). We now have the opportunity to do an ...

House Blend, Thank you for the very informative response. I really appreciate the info, and I think it is helping quite a bit. My wife is a government employee, so the 457 plan is a bit more favorable than if she were privately employed. It is meant as an additional retirement vehicle along with her...

Thanks for the reply - I am a newbie when it comes to all of this, and appreciate the feedback. Can anyone help with advice regarding the options I have available to me with my wife's 401(k)? I assume I can either 1) leave it where it is, 2) roll-over to Vanguard or other funds, or 3) roll-over to J...

I do not believe we could roll over her 401(k) into the pension plan. That option was never presented. There is a 5-year vesting in the defined benefit program, and then they take a 3-year avg of salary of the employee's highest three earning years, combine it with a 2.5% multiplier and however many...

Hello, I need some investing help, as my wife recently changed jobs and has some new retirement options that weren't previously available to us. We do not carry any debt besides our mortgage, and pay ahead on that each month. The remaining balance is: $130,000 @ 5.5% (30-year mortgage) We are also l...

Hello, I sought out help around 1 year ago to streamline my (and my wife's) retirement portfolio, and have taken steps to simplify it since then (THANK YOU!) Now, we are going to contribute $10,000 to our Roth in the next few months, before the tax deadline, and I was curious which direction you wou...

I forgot to mention - I lean toward the 25-year vs. the 30-year because it would still result in a savings of $60/month while reducing our payment term. If we went with the 30-year, it seems like we would be taking a step back since we have already been paying the loan for 2 years.