HouseNoob

Well. It happened. Or rather it didn't. It looks like this isn't going to happen. I *think* my heart is fairly broken. But, for the sake of my family, I am trying not to let it show or feel it. Plus I am busy, between school and work, I don't really have time to wallow in my grief. Ever since I found it that this probably wasn't moving forward I have refused to look at pictures of the house, and can barely spend time on Pinterest.  There is a teeny glimmer or hope, actually two potential pathways that this still might happen, but they are both fairly small. 1st pathway depends on the events that happen this coming week. I honestly don't really have my hopes up. If nothing pans out next week, then we are on to pathway #2, which I feel my real estate agent isn't too keen on, and I am almost inclined to reach out to the seller directly if we have to go that way.  It hurts to write about this, and as usual, I have a shit ton of homework and studying to go do, so

Well really, according to a countdown site I have bookmarked, its 25 days and 4 hours. Can you tell I'm getting just a teensy bit antsy? I emailed the loan officer's assistant yesterday to see if there was anything else missing and a concern about some deposits (basically my paychecks) that a previous lender had me write a letter to explain. And I realize that I **did** basically gift Tony the $1000 already, because there was a check of mine he was supposed to send but kept back in December.  When she contacts me again I am also going to ask for more clarification on the timeline and if i still seems at all reasonable to close on 3/2. The appraisal will soon be ordered if it hasn't already, so at this point I think we are waiting for underwriting and a title search.  Also, on Friday, I scored a deal on some wall cabinets. I just so happened to be on Facebook when someone posted about a regular 2-door wall cabinet plus two short ones (like the ones that go over a fridge

I can't believe we are just 4 weeks out from closing! About a week or two ago we decided to switch loan products. Originally we were going to go with a conventional loan backed by PHFA (PA Housing something or other) to avoid having PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance), with the idea that this would result in a lower monthly payment than an FHA loan. Plus, we could avoid the dreaded FHA appraisal, which does more than just check the value of the home, it includes a mini-inspection to check for safety issues. However, the interest rate on the conventional loan was MUCH higher than the FHA loan. So although the FHA loan would require a little more money at closing (3.5% down payment vs 3%), our monthly payment sits at about $40 per month CHEAPER. This means a savings of $480 per year, which far outweighs any extra money we would pay at closing.  Our expected payment for mortgage, taxes, insurance and PMI would amount to $615. This is a $160 a month savings in what we pay for rent, wh