hi all. so wife and i were pre-qualified for a mortgage today.
also, we saw a house for sale by owner this evening that we liked quite a bit. anything to look out for when buying from an owner? bad idea for a first timer or OK?
spoke to Chase today. was preapproved for a $560K loan at 3.375% with (.212%) points (they pay me? i don't fully understand this but will look into further). this isn't a final approval but as a general guideline, any thoughts? i still plan to reach out to one or two more lenders but this was the fi...
When I was home shopping, I had my mortgage broker do a pre-approval letter for an amount near the top of my purchase price range (though lower than I could have been approved for). I also asked him in advance if he could generate versions for me at my offer price when I was making an offer on a ho...
I first decide who has the best offer and then apply. If your credit is excellent and you can afford 20% down, there is no need to apply to know what they will offer you. You can get a reasonable estimate by looking at their website and/or by speaking with a loan officer. Large banks may offer bett...
looking to get pre-approved as my wife and i start looking at homes. we just applied via our bank (Chase). i've been told it's smart to apply via a large national bank (Chase, done), a local bank and a credit union. that said, how do i make sure they each don't do a hard pull of my credit each time?...
NJ is one of the highest states measured by exodus of people relocating. The reasons for many are the tax burden and fiscal stability of the state. Just something to consider. Yea I hear ya, but right now I'm in Chicago. Schools, violence, tax situation etc - it ain't all rosy hear either Illinois/...
recently just been casually checking RE sites but as Spring is approaching, we are ramping up the seriousness. from what i understand, at this point, it makes sense to look into getting pre-approved for a mortgage loan. some friends have recommended Rocket Mortgage but i'm not sold. wife is a teache...
The best thing I've bought in the last many months was a $9 shower drain hair catcher. It's this long piece of plastic with teeth-like things on it that you shove really far down the bathtub drain, twist, pull up, and voila! I have been trying to unclog this drain for years, using chemicals, baking...
how poor of an idea is this assuming the Roth isn't the primary vehicle for retirement savings? i primarily contribute to a 401K and my wife a 457b and she has a pension.
the funds in our Roth aren't huge (maybe $40K?) but could certainly help get us to the 20% much more comfortably.
This is an interesting thread, which I find pretty relevant. Not only am I an adult, I was gifted a Nintendo Switch by my brother for Christmas, which I have yet to take out of the box. My wife thinks it could be fun, so I should crack it out, but just need to get started. I've found games to run $...
curious if you use it as much as you thought you would. i feel like it'd be a really fun console for my wife and i to play various games instead of, say, going out to dinner or spending money in other frivolous ways on the weekend. obviously im not buying it to "save" money, but it does se...
Most people love or hate them. I have loved them for 10 years now. IMO the basic iPad is a bargain at $329. Currently on sale for $250 at Amazon. A steal for that price. https://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-10-2-Inch-Wi-Fi-32GB/dp/B07XL7G4HH/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=iPad&qid=1580343174&sr=8-3 Oh wo...
OP here, my other concern is planned obsolescence.
My wife has an iPad Mini (maybe 1st or 2nd Gen) and it’s virtually unusable. It’s so incredibly slow and laggy, I suppose because the memory has been zapped by the OS but can’t really confirm that.
We always liked the stroller car seat combos where the car seat could snap directly into the car seat base in the car and then into the stroller without taking the baby out of the car seat. Good for the first year or so. Then the stroller can be used like a regular stroller. A good baby monitor is ...
We always liked the stroller car seat combos where the car seat could snap directly into the car seat base in the car and then into the stroller without taking the baby out of the car seat. Good for the first year or so. Then the stroller can be used like a regular stroller. A good baby monitor is ...
curious as to what are some of the "must have" baby registry items. my wife is due in June and we're both new to this. i have seen recommendations to avoid asking for clothes as well as some specific recommendations for types of strollers and car seats. just thought it might spark some goo...
Hmm. Well, we live in the Boston suburbs, I'm a stay at home mom and my husband's base is 250K. He has a large bonus but we save it. We have a 900K house on a 30yr mortgage, one kid in private school (one in public), and we still manage summer camps, a nice family vacation and trips to see grandpar...
Hmm. Well, we live in the Boston suburbs, I'm a stay at home mom and my husband's base is 250K. He has a large bonus but we save it. We have a 900K house on a 30yr mortgage, one kid in private school (one in public), and we still manage summer camps, a nice family vacation and trips to see grandpar...
you may not be familiar with the tristate. the jobs are here, in NYC and immediate suburbs. not an hour or two into PA, NY or NJ. issue is, i'm in a role that is transferable and have no real need for NYC. i am competing with finance, big law and tech professionals who probably out earn us to the c...
Similar to you my wife is a teacher as well and she has a ton of family in the area so moving an hour up the line is not an option for me. Everybody makes their own priorities, but the idea that someone wouldn't consider moving an hour or two further from family to be in a more affordable area seem...
wife and i live in a very expensive suburb of NYC (Westchester for those familiar). at 33-years old we make "decent" but not excellent salaries (her ~$100K and me ~$115K). all in we're at ~$230K gross. we're starting a family and starting to look at homes in the area. even in the less pres...
i bought an "off lease" Thinkpad T430 about 3 years ago on eBay for $150. came with an SSD and has been flawless since day 1. the thing seems indestructible. some of the best money i've spent.
We fly to Hawaii once or twice a year. Alaska Airlines Signature Visa offers one $99 companion fare per year. Annual fee is $75 I think. Since we live in Seattle Alaska Airlines is are usual carrier. I try to book 6 most in advance for best flights and seats. something tells me that $99/fare won't ...
wife and i are looking to take a Babymoon and want to go to Hawaii. problem is, the only time she's able to take off are during busy travel times. we're looking to travel 2/15 - 2/22 from the NYC area. best price i could find was ~$1000/ticket with 1 stop or ~120K Chase Ultimate Rewards points. than...
my wife and i are expecting June 2020. we both signed up to contribute $2500/ea. to a Dependent Care FSA in 2020. turns out we may not need to spend any money at all for care in 2020 as we both receive 3-months of parental leave and can likely stagger the time off to get us through 2020. do we have ...
Interesting Stowe came up. We where just there this past weekend. I wouldn't stay at the Ski Resort proper unless its Ski season. Off season like this past weekend the place is a ghost town. Another nice place to stay in town if you like historic Inn's is the Green Mountain Inn. Just pay extra for ...
any advice for a really enjoyable long winter weekend? thinking a nice cozy atmosphere (rustic, fireplace, scenic) 3-6 hours from NYC for a long weekend.
big fan of hitting up kitchen supply stores. they sell a lot of stuff made for heavy duty use and i am a fan of a brand called Vollrath found at such stores.
i am on my wife's plan. the cost is relatively affordable (~3,500 for both of us annually). there's $0 deductible and $30 co-pays for typical visits. other coverage is solid as well. to me, it makes less sense in this instance to have an HSA and instead i should focus on other means of investment (4...
wife is a teacher which is nice as it affords her a good amount of time off. however, her time off obviously coincides with major holidays. sure, in the dead of summer you can sometimes find deals, but what about around Christmas, Winter and Spring Break? i also have off the week between Christmas a...
hi all, OP here just following up on an incredibly helpful thread. signs point to my wife now being pregnant with potential due date in early June. our first doctor's appointment is next week. life insurance is squared away. $1.5MM for each, about ~$650 annually for each. she is getting information ...
i've read, similarly to Pyrex, that Corelle is supposedly buy-it-for-life. however, when we first took shipment of the plates one of the dinner plates had a piece cleaved off and now i notice one of the salad plates has the same thing. they're great with replacements and all (just contact customer s...
nalor511 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 24, 2019 8:29 pm
If you don't need them name brand (and are ok with something that looks the same), I've had pretty good luck with eyebuydirect.com , they have 2 week no questions asked returns, and 365 day warranty