Ok, I have been lurking...hope thats not a problem. I did use advise here to pick, scale and determine the system I want. I did this immediately upon moving into our 20 year old home a little over a year ago. As mentioned before, my better half does NOT want to replace a functioning unit UNLESS it fails or UNTIL the rates go up. I must admit we have at least 4 neighbors on our block that STILL have their 20 year old tranes running. I know I will save if I upgrade, that simply is not the issue. The issue is that if I wait to upgrade until the electric rates go up, will my install quote skyrocket because of all the other folks upgrading at that time. There also appears to contradictory opinions. Also, I'd assume technology might improve over a couple of years. I think Gary is the closest situation to mine...almost exactly and has provided the most analytic approach to solving my problem. What I do not know is if Gary upgraded before a 'mass' wave of upgrades when his rates went up or after and if the price difference would have been dramtic or not.

Hi Danihoney, Any tips on locating and choosing a proper adviser? Heh... funny you should ask.... I wrote my post a bit earlier, and was actually running around doing my Sunday errands thinking about exactly that. A common refrain you'll see in my posts is "go find a worthy professional advisor, and GET AWAY from the retail clerks & commodity salespeople." The oh-so-obvious response to this is; "OK... and HOW do I go about finding such an Advisor????" Perhaps my not-so-obvious answer to that is also what I used to be so heavily accused of; self-promotion. I really try to give everyone as much of the orienting financial principles as possible (up to the level where people start saying they can't understand a thing I am saying,) and I TRY to show people how to go about finding quality professionals who also understand financial planning including the leverage management pice (which is usually a hidden quarter to half-million dollar piece, or more!) My firm does this... but I'm not really shy of pointing out that we're not the only ones. The trouble is that its not something you can simply flip through the yellow pages to find. I think that first of all I would start from a large list of potential advisors, and then narrow them down by qualifications. A) are they a licensed broker, or banker? Brokers (in most states) have a legal fiduciary duty to you, their client. The brokers (and their licensed loan officers) in such states *MUST* put their clients financial interests ahead of their own. In contrast, licensed bankers (and loan clerks) strictly represent their corporate interests. B) do they offer software-generated leverage/mortgage analysis & plans... either on a fee-only basis, or in conjunction with their financial services? (Some examples of programs used by some; Loan Magic, Equity For Life, Mortgage Coach, Forgotten Equity, and Loan Analyzer.) While actually executing a particular plan doesn't make nor break the quality of a professional... anyone who doesn't even have it as an offer OBVIOUSLY has no way of properly determining what is actually in your financial best interests. Beware the loan salesperson who, when asked about analytical programs, refers to their online application gathering forms, or processing software, or some nebulous secret black-box website only they have access to. The bottom line is if they cannot generate a nice presentable report that gives you a full, graphical explanation of where you are financially, what you are seeking to accomplish, and the future-looking results of several options... they are blowing smoke. C) do they regularly work with real estate investors (and EXTRA points if they are one themselves... "eat their own dog food" so to speak.) D) do they analyze your financials from a holistic perspective? That is to say; do they gather and review *ALL* your financials before making suggestions? Anyone who starts suggesting 6-figure financial debt structures WITHOUT having any clue of your qualified retirement accounts, insurance coverages (life, health & disability as well as property & casualty,) is acting as a dangerous renegade, in my opinion. SO OFTEN the general public randomly takes the "lowest points" 30 FRM (the absolute *MOST* expensive way to borrow money) and throws as much cash into their down payment as possible (the most dangerous cash management moves).... AND THEN they clip coupons, skip latte's, and think they are "conservative & practical." Having someone who truly understands BOTH sides of the financial balance sheet... the assets AND the liabilities... and their interrelationships, is essential to financial success, in my opinion. SO... there ya go (are you sorry you asked?) Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

The Fed Prime rate is a cost of funds for short term loans and credit, including consumer credit. It will immediately reflect in credit cards, car loans, and even home equity lines of credit. The longer a fixed-term on a loan (especially with mortgages,) the more the lenders hedge them against longer-term instruments, such as 30 year treasury bonds, and cross-hedged futures positions. THESE instruments do not directly correlate to short-term interest changes (especially artificially manipulated changes, like those by the Fed committees.) Think of it like this; The Fed is a monstrous ship... like the Queen Mary. It doesn't change direction (rising rates, or falling rates) very quickly, and once it chooses a course it generally stays on that course for a while before turning again... very slowly. NONETHELESS... it raises a "wake" along the way, and the wake turns into waves that lap up against the beaches and consumers immediately see & feel the waves. ALTERNATIVELY... the long-term credit markets (i.e. bonds, and mortgages) are more like the TIDES. They move to certain natural rhythms, not exactly perfectly symetrical & regular, but not altogether unforeseeable either. The tides rise & fall even more gradually, and a dropping tide doesn't care whether a passing ship raises a few waves or not... the tide continues what it would be doing anyway. The captain of the Fed ship is guiding the boat as he is reading the tides... the financially-unaware public often thinks that the ship is CAUSING the tides to rise or fall, but it is actually the exact opposite... the ship is navigating its course at cause OF THE TIDES.... and in fact is completely submissive to the long-term financial cycle tides. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Strategic Equity & Mortgage Planner

I've seen that article in several places, one is below. IMO any bailout should be limited to individials or companies who were actually defrauded in some way. I do not believe in government bailing out individuals OR businesses who acted irresponsibly. Mark my words though, any bailout will be promoted as if it's "for Americans to hold onto the dream of homeownership," but in reality it will help shady businesses continue their shady practices, (the stuff that caused this problem in the first place). I find it almost disgusting that people who pushed these bad loans on unqualified buyers shunned regulation or law enforcement attempts, and now they want the government to get involved. Tax payers would not really notice the relatively low cost of helping true victims of fraud, but we will all notice the much higher cost of enabling crooks to continue. Here is a link that might be useful: Article