Hey guys. I was having the same problem last week. My Trane heatpump condenser fan motor failed. I went out and got a Dayton motor from WW Granger. It was a 4 wire motor and my orig. GE motor was three wire. so I installed it by taping off the brown wire with white stripe and hooking up the other three. (This is a commonly used method of using a four wire in a thee wire pump.) Also replaced the split capacitor with a new one. After the fan ran for 15~20 minutes it would overheat and shut down. Like you I ran the water hose over the unit to let it drip and it would run forever... I checked all the voltages, etc. and voltage drop accross the contactor and everything was fine. The fan started fine but still overheated. FINALLY, I installed a seperate fan capacitor, 5 ufarrid @ 370v, on the advice of a tech support guy at Granger. VIOLLA! Dont ask me why but now the fan runs at about 35 deg.C in the air stream and stays there. If anyone has a theory about why this worked please let me know. If you want a wiring diagram on how this worked email me @kidshows@gmail.com and Ill scan it into a pdf for you. You have to make a jumper wire. (I used the wire off my old GE motor and just added another spade connector to match the capacitor). Hope this helps you out. Im in Dallas and its already close to 100 deg. and the unit is running full bore with the best cold air I had in months. God Bless and take care. Mark

To share where I'm coming from, I work in risk management for a global investment banking firm and I specialize in fixed income products, of which mortgage backed securities are a huge chunk. I've been in risk management for 5 years and I have worked with virtually all the fixed income investments for another 25 before that. I'm working first-hand with this stuff every day. I agree with what the Secretary of the Treasury Paulson said today... Despite warning investors that there was no easy fix for markets, the Treasury Secretary also urged calm. "Credit is being repriced, reassessed across our capital markets," he said. "This will play out over time, and liquidity will return to normal when the market has a better understanding of the risk-return trade-off. "Markets straighten themselves out over time. This is going to take a while to play out." Mr Paulson argued that action by the Fed, which last week cut the rate it charges US banks for short-term lending, "makes it easier for the markets to focus on risk". We had the S&L crisis in the 1980's, we had a large US bank fail in the 80's, we had Long Term Capital Mgmt in the 90's, now we have this. It's cyclical, it straightens out and then at some point, the next debacle happens. Yes, I'm cold about it - that's what my experience tells me will happen when greed kicks in again. And humans being humans, greed WILL kick in. I made an observation in my original post and I stand by it. To me, an observation is not anything other than just that. I see that others of you equate observations to judgments. That's not what I said or intended. And for a positive, those of you who own Lowe's stock - hang on to it for awhile. Keep fixing up your houses and the stockholders will thank you for it.

Closing costs come along with a mortgage or more accurately I suppose a loan? There are basically two types of closing costs. Those related to the purchase (aka transaction) and those related to borrowing any money to facilitate the transaction. Those related to the transaction are charged whether you are taking out a loan or not. Examples include title insurance, property taxes, transfer taxes, attorneys' fees, agents'commissions, certain other types of insurance. Some of these charges will be a fixed fee, others based on a percentage of the sales price. Some of these fees are charged by the title company and some by the state/local authority. The second set of closing costs are those related to taking out a loan. The appraisal fee (which is usually a fixed charge - say $350)and the origination fees (aka points - which is based on the amount of the loan. Each point is 1% of the loan amount). Seems like a lot of the closing costs come from the title company - and you have to do that anyway? I.e. why are loan closing costs a big deal? Most people finance their home purchases by borrowing the money. It costs money to borrow money. The largest cost of borrowing money is, of course, interest determined by the interest rate. The other big cost of borrowing is the origination fee, aka points. It's a big deal because it is a one-time charge based on the amount borrowed. So, it's variable. A point is 1% of the loan amount. If I'm buying a $500,000 house, borrowing 100%, and paying 1 point, it's going to cost me $5000 (just drop the last two zeroes on the loan amount.)If I put down 50% and finance $250,000, the point will cost me $2500. Some borrowers find it advantageous to "buy down" their interest rate. They might pay 2 points or more to purchase a lower interest rate over the life of the loan. Other borrowers might pay zero points and buy a slightly higher interest rate. Lenders will often tie interest rates and points together as a marketing tool to stand out against their competition. So, depending on the amount financed and the number of points charged, this particular cost of borrowing money can make or break the loan for a potential buyer. And do mortgage related closing costs go up with the amount of the loan? How why? Some do, some don't - see above. Why? 'Cuz. (LOL) Then depending on the last, only buying a house full price/cash is an advantage? A hefty downpayment and smaller loan gets you (no)where? Not necessarily. Sadly, Mary, this is where the math becomes really important. But a good mortgage calculator with a full amortization schedule can be a big help. It will calculate not only the monthly payment but the total interest cost of the loan (prepare for heart failure) and enable you to model different interest rate, loan amount, and payment scenarios. Stop thinking of it as math and start thinking of it as money...playing with money. So when people talk closing costs - are we talking two types? The type you pay no matter what - say you bought full purchase price - or even inherited a house. And the ones that come along with a loan? Which are loan ones and which are not? Yup...see above. Mary, the best way to understand the total transaction costs of a real estate purchase is to take out your settlement statement from you recent home sale. This is called the HUD-1. Then go to HUD's website and follow the line-by-line explanation of what each settlement line means. You'll see right away that the form is divided into loan costs and other costs. Doing this is akin to doing your taxes by hand. Despite the miracle of tax software, you will never understand our tax system better (and how it applies to you) than after you've done your taxes with paper, pencil, and a good tax manual. Something, each taxpayer should do at least ONCE in their lifetime. Same goes for the HUD-1. It's work but it's good work. Hope that helps. The concepts, guidelines, and rules-of-thumb are important but no piece of generic advice will ever replace working the numbers specific to YOUR situation, your financial needs, your psychology, and your future situation. Mary, I know how much you want to buy a home versus renting. You love "home" - it's a passion, a hobby, and a lifestyle for you. You also want a secure financial future and you have doubts about how these two fit together right now. I think it's great that you keep asking questions and seeking answers. I read that you had engaged a financial planner. As you review your decisions, you might want to start a new hobby - getting past math anxiety by learning more about consumer finances and financial planning. The math is such a small part of it. It's much more a process of thinking and mindset. You might want to see if your local county or community college offers financial education classes. It's a great way to meet people who have similar interests and it can become downright addictive. Fifteen years ago, I didn't know there was such a thing as a financial calculator...now, I carry one with me all the time. Playing with mortgage scenarios, calculating investment earnings, etc. is a great way to pass time while waiting in lines...sort of like having your own financial game-boy. Good luck!

A closing date can be ten months away, but I don't think the earnest money could be released before then, so the sellers will not get the money needed. In my experience esoteric deals end up costing significantly more money. There are very few ways, other than straight up buying a house, to keep the deal reasonable for both parties. A lease to buy, a land contract, and a delayed closing are going to seriously affect the seller's ability to finance alternate housing. Unless you are paying a serious premium for that the buyers will be foolish to do it and an attorney would be foolish not to advise them against it. If you really want this deal you and the buyer should meet with an attorney and see if you can hash out a deal that will work for both parties. However, I will say that I have never ended up regretting passing up a deal, no matter how badly I wanted it at the time. I honestly believe the best thing that you can do is pass up this deal.