Skwerl's new cabin

[skwerl]

The pool doesn't look bad but the screen enclosure needs some work.

The bank installed a new AC unit. Inside air handler is new as well.

You can see some moisture damage on the eaves. The master bedroom needs some drywall replaced and I will dispose of all the carpet.

 

[Shaggy]

Mexican dagger cactus, have them all around my kids windows.

Ha ha! Nice idea!

Congrats Brian! Looks like a nice house! So you aren't allowed to add that extra fence near your neighbors or are you just not sure he will go for it?

 

[skwerl]

The neighbor uses a lot of the area behind his house which technically isn't his property. He also has two boats parked in the easement between our houses. If I fence it off completely then I will need to do it in such a way as to allow him full access to all the space he is currently using while still blocking any through paths. I'm not looking to claim all that space so that doesn't matter, but I may end up buying him some fence and a gate or two. I just hope we can come to an equitable solution that allows both of us to take advantage of the extra 'free' space.

 

[BEAST]

A secondary idea would be to plant shit loads of poison ivy/oak/sumac in a cactus garden "fence".

 

[skwerl]

No, I don't want poison ivy spreading all over my yard.

I'll get pictures tomorrow along with the idea I have.

 

[BEAST]

That was not a for real idea. I would not wish any of the 3 on anyone. Lol

I am excited for you brother I have followed all the ups and downs from day 1. I hope this one is the one for you, tomorrow can't get here soon enough!

 

[Wicked GT]

Skwerl, is the section of land that your driveway is on yours or is it a common area? I ask as if it is yours you can fence it off and "Armor" it for the wildlife that may hop the fence. If it is not part of your actual plot I would not fence it off, I would instead build a huge fence around your actual plot and run the driveway off of the common space or off the main road to the left (preferred if possible). This way there is no question about protecting YOUR property and alleviates any issues with the city/county/neighbors/etc. just my $0.02...

OK, here's a screen shot off Zillow with some MS Paint editing. The green line indicates my driveway, the purple is where I need to replace the existing fence and the blue is the area I need to secure without actually being able to fence it off. I can fence some of it but I can't get into any situation with the next door neighbor as he has lived there for 20 years.

I know there are other avenues for kids to cut through the neighborhood and that's fine as long as it isn't down my driveway.

 

[skwerl]

What is in the white square is (will be) my property. The 40' space between the lots is the easement for the street which does not go through. It will never go through so the easement will never be used by the county.

My idea is to bring the fence forward from the back corner of the property until it is even with the neighbor's back corner. Then go straight across the easement tying into the back corner of his fence. I will install two large gates on the front side so we can both park unused trailers there and keep them out of sight, cleaning up the whole area.

Instead of the blue line I'll put the fence along the yellow line.

 

[weather man]

I would discretely check about running a fence across the city easement. Would only take one complaint and you would probably have to remove.

 

[skwerl]

Yes, I understand that. Except there's nobody to complain. The easement is already almost impassable due to overgrown trees and vines and piled up crap. I accept the fact that the county can legally force me to remove the fence but I'd rather not look at 20 years of crap that has been dumped there by the previous owners and next door neighbor. I would rather clean it up but then it just opens up the easement to pedestrian traffic through my back yard.

 

[Steve@Tasca]

The 40' space between the lots is the easement for the street which does not go through. It will never go through so the easement will never be used by the county.

You can say that now but the future is never certain, there was a road similar to that in my old neighborhood that didn't connect through for a very long time and even had a cul de sac at the dead end.

The city decided to put the road through and even though there was a huge public outcry about it the city did what it wanted and finished the road. Nothing is certain in a situation like that.

-Steve

 

[skwerl]

Regardless, it's been there 40 years and is between two established neighborhoods with no reason to open it up. I understand and accept the risks of fencing in property that isn't mine. There are a dozen unpaved easements between the two neighborhoods and none of them are connected.

No good news today. Realtor called and said my offer was "under review" which means they didn't like it and will wait for a better offer. I suspect once I'm preapproved on a mortgage they will change their tune, still waiting for that phone call as well.

On the other hand, Fannie Mae typically will drop the price by $10K once the house has been on the market for 30 days. This house has been on the market for 25 days and Fannie typically drops prices on Tuesdays. If I get preapproved and nothing else happens with the house in the next 5 days, I can drop my offer by $5K and resubmit at their new asking price next Tuesday. In the meantime I'm going to need another economy size bottle of Tums.

 

[skwerl]

Been a long week but finally heard from my finance guy today. He says he found a way to make it work but I'll have to pay off my 0% car loan in order to lose the $510 payment and get my debt ratio in line. (Of course those debt ratios are based on married people with kids and lots of living expenses, I'm single and my living expenses are very low)

Hopefully the plan I outlined a few days ago in my previous post will come to fruition tomorrow. Once I'm actually in the new house and get this one sold I'll be in a better position to reevaluate my financial needs and determine my best options. Thankfully I have plenty of options to get me through the rest of the year so I have time to get my budget established and plan my long term solutions.

 

[skwerl]

Well it looks like the car may have to go in order to make the loan work. The finance guy wants to roll the car loan into the mortgage but then I end up paying PMI which could take years to get dropped and doesn't make any financial sense whatsoever. I need to keep the loan below the 80% threshold in order to avoid paying PMI so that means I need to sell the car.

I may be able to sell it to a friend and then buy it back after closing on the new house, although qualifying for financing may run into the same snags I am experiencing now. Worst case I sell it and buy it back (or another car) after selling my current house.

 

[Shaggy]

That would be a sweet deal if your buddy will sell it back to you. Does he want the car if you decide that you don't want it again or can't buy it back? Are you still able to go after this house you posted about last or is that off the table now?

 

[skwerl]

I haven't discussed the car deal with the friend yet, still waiting for his call. And as far as I know this latest house I'm looking at is still available as it is still on the market and listed on the MLS. Now that my financing is secured I hope to put in a second offer on it tomorrow.

 

[5.0 Probie]

Be careful with that PMI. I do NOT know the current format/rules. But when we purchased, you had to wait five years before you could apply to remove it. And in our situation we put 10% down and had around $100k in equity day one. In a "Conversation" with a couple of buddies of mine they said once you have PMI on new loans it remains for even longer before you can apply to have it removed.

No idea if it is true. I do know they cut the rate recently...

We had to sell my wife's 2007 GT and our 2010 CanAm Spyder in order to put the down payment we wanted and get the debt to income to work (No kids in the home anymore).

It was worth it!

 

[jlmotox]

You will find something that will work for you, where there is a will the is a way!

PMI is not all bad, I took it to get the FHA 3% down payment loan then refinanced after a year and a half when the home prices went up and was worth $100k more than I bought it for. Now after the refi on a traditional loan my payment is $300 month less then I was paying. Worked good for me.

Also if you are not on the Garage Journal forum you should check it out! Good group and lots of info there. You would fit right in.

Good luck !!

 

[joe_momma]

I'm paying PMI now and it will go away once I hit either 78 or 80% value. Unfortunately I didn't have any down payment for my last refinance that I had to do after the divorce. That's only a couple of more years down the road I think. That will drop my mortgage payment a hair over $200/month.

 

[skwerl]

Well $200 per month is a lot of nuts! 15-17 years ago my PMI was $35 per month and I hated paying that. I sure the hell am not going to throw away $200 per month. And my finance guy says that thanks to the new rules, PMI is for the life of the loan so the only way to lose it is to refinance. So if I choose between keeping my Mustang or paying $200 per month for the next 30 years on bullshit, I'll gladly kiss the Mustang goodbye.