Don’t Let An Old Rule Drive You Broke

October 30, 2015

Within the last several months, I’ve been contemplating the purchase of a home and my sons are a big part of that contemplation. My ex-wife and I split up about 8-9 years ago and I have lived in a few places since the separation/divorce. I’m currently about 15 minutes from my old house (that she still owns) and it’s a quick, easy drive but with two teen boys with active social lives, it seems like that 15 minutes is resulting in 30, 60, 90 or 120 minutes on the Beltway (our version of a highway) on a regular basis.  Continue reading “Don’t Let An Old Rule Drive You Broke”

How Some Financial Decisions Are Like Bounce Houses

December 07, 2012

I read this article about the increasing number of “bounce house” injuries and at first I thought it might have been a hoax. But then I remembered a bunch of kids’ birthday parties that I’ve attended and if my memory serves me correctly (and that’s not always such a sure thing!), there has been at least 1 injury at each party. One was particularly memorable because it was one of my good friends who was in the bounce house with her son and his head collided with her lower lip.  A whole lot of paper towels and a few stitches later, she had a fat lip for over a week.  Her son, to this day, jokes with her about the time he nearly knocked her out and made her go to the hospital.  (It was an urgent care center but he likes to embellish a little bit for an audience.)  Everyone loves the idea of a bounce house.  Not everyone loves the end result of jumping around in one.  They may look wonderful, but it isn’t all a 100% pure joy.  Continue reading “How Some Financial Decisions Are Like Bounce Houses”

How to Qualify For a Mortgage

December 05, 2012

Susan and I purchased our first home back in 1996. Like many newlyweds, our first home is what you might call a starter home.  It was a modest, two-story, single family home on a small piece of property at the end of a cul-de-sac.  After seven years (and three kids), we were ready to move on, and so we did. Continue reading “How to Qualify For a Mortgage”

Is Now the Right Time to Refinance?

October 12, 2011

If you’re in the market for a home, you couldn’t ask for a better scenario.  Since 2006, home prices have steadily fallen back to more normal levels, while at the same time interest rates on mortgages are near all-time lows.  This may be the best buying opportunity in real estate I will see in my lifetime, there’s only one problem: I already own a home.  Is there any way for me, an existing homeowner, to take advantage of the current market conditions?  Well, the answer is a definite maybe. Continue reading “Is Now the Right Time to Refinance?”

Life Lessons from a Broken Dream

August 24, 2011

Recently I read an article in the local newspaper written by Kathy Gosnell Seiler, a copy editor for the Los Angeles Times.  She, like many homebuyers in the last six years, bought a home with mostly borrowed money hoping to experience the dream of owning her own home.  She, like many homeowners, refinanced her mortgage several years later to help pay for improvements.  She, like many borrowers, found herself trapped in a variable rate loan when she couldn’t refinance because her house was underwater.  And she, like many ex-homeowners, lost her home because she could no longer afford to make the payments.  Sadly, her story is not unique, but what really sets her story apart is what she says toward the end of her article: Continue reading “Life Lessons from a Broken Dream”