After Sam finished his PhD, we moved to Florida where he was set to be a professor of ocean engineering. After years of school we were excited — and flat broke. Our first place was a 3-bedroom townhouse. Not luxurious, but clearly a step-up from our college apartment dwellings.
With two children in our family — [...]
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You’ve probably heard about some of the Housing Stimulus that has been created in recent months. The proper role of government in such efforts is worthy of discussion. But in this post I’d like to outline the specifics of the tax credits so you can figure out if they apply to you.
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The man from Questar dropped by and consulted with us about line and meter location. We’ll be placing it in between the laundry room wall and the hall wall in the basement.
The listed appliances with accompanying BTUs:
1 boiler: 178,000
1 barbecue: 20,000
1 dryer: 22,000
2 fireplaces: 70,000
3 furnaces: 300,000
1 range: 60,000
1 space heater: 50,000
Total BTU’s: 700,000
Unfortunately, the [...]
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Breathe. Breathe.
This is the third time we’ve built a home and the fourth home we’ve purchased. Never in my life has it been such an episode. This morning we finally closed on the course of construction loan, but not before feeling utterly beat up and screwed over and smacked around.
First, we went through the nightmare of [...]
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It probably isn’t often that you have occasion to purchase bank checks. Most of my financial life is done online, through EFT, or other electronic methods. But last week I needed to get some new checks and I couldn’t even remember where to get the best deal. I just know it’s not my bank. So [...]
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Your mortgage is likely the largest debt you will ever incur. And it seems impossible to tackle. With a new mortgage looming in the next week, we are more aware of this than ever. I will be 75 before it’s paid off the “natural” way. And Sam, well, he’ll be even older. We’d like to [...]
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Before we can dig the hole, we’ve got to secure a construction loan. No matter how good our credit is, no matter how big our down payment, no matter how secure our income, this step has always just been nerve-wracking to me. It keeps me up and night and gives me ulcers. Mostly, I suppose, [...]
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When we sold the first dream home, we used the equity to pay off the mortgage, of course, but also both of our auto loans, and every drop of consumer debt we had. Being personally debt free brings amazing freedom and peace of mind. Dave Ramsey has it right when he has callers scream, “We’re [...]
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After trying the credit report that gives no scores, I’ve turned to the commercial world of credit report offerings. I’ve narrowed the myriad free credit score offerings to three. Each one offers a slightly different twist and they all have fine print you must read carefully, or you’ll be on the hook for ongoing payouts. [...]
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One of the most stressful parts of home building can be the financing. When you buy an existing home or a home through a large-scale builder, there are few unknowns. In those cases, financing can be just a matter of researching interest rates, filling out an application, gathering a few documents, and waiting for the [...]
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