Finance options for remodel
Britta
7 years ago
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User
7 years agoUser
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
EA retracting financing options?
Comments (22)awn...the article says that banks want to charge annual fees because they're not making any money on card holders who pay off every month. What a crock! Every time I charge something to my VISA card doesn't the bank charge the retailer 2-3%? That's why some retailers refuse to accept credit cards or they tell the customer if you pay cash your price will be a little lower (I've seen furniture stores do that). I've cancelled all cards I no longer use. If that lowers my FICO score so be it, I don't need the stupid score anyway since I have no plans to buy a house. I'm more concerned with identity theft than a credit score. The less credit opened in my name the less chance someone will come across it and start charging on it illegally. I pay off my credit cards every month, all 3 of them. I too have received notices from Chase and Wells Fargo that my rates have increased. They can raise it all they want, it doesn't affect me. But if they start charging me an annual fee that's when I'll raise hell, especially given how much I charge every month. Has anyone else received notices that the cash back program has INCREASED from 1% to 2%? If the bank is so concerned about losing money why are they PAYING me more to use it? I get money from them every month, not the other way around. And if they're paying me 1% or 2% to use my card that means one of two things, either they're taking less of a cut from the retailers they're charging or they've increased the percentage they charge the retailers. No matter how it's working out, I'm still making money. Do you think they've sweetening the pot hoping I use the card so much I'll finally start racking up more debt than I can pay off each month...and then they've got me by the footlocks with their 30% interest rates? I'll switch to debit cards and even checks if they try to swindle me with a high annual interest rate. You know what really irks me about all this...we the taxpayers bailed out these banks and now they're turning around and screwing us! How dare they, they ought to kiss the ground we all walk on for allowing them to stay in business but instead they're punishing the American public with 30% interest rates. If my bank so much as look at me cross-eyed I'll tell them where to go because I don't need them....See MoreFinancing a large remodel?
Comments (17)I feel for the poster. When I asked for opinions on my addition (very similar to this situation), I got a lot of people judging me too. I can't answer the loan question. If you really want to do something, you are responsible for your own life and know the risks. After thoughtful contemplation and reflection you still want it, just keep trying other banks and saving money till you can do it. Just don't do something too bad like taking money out of your retirement accts. Just make sure you sit down with a spreadsheet. Do you have emergency funds if your car blows up? Or Roof leaks? Do you have collage for the kids? Do you have enough for retirement or illness? What if you get laid off? If you are ok with all that, be happy and do whatever snaps your socks. Personally, I just had four contractors visit me. I am still very concerned about my decision to do an addition. Money is the concern and our age/lack of retirement funds. But after contemplation, I know we'll be in debt for 10 years and done. I know we can afford the payments. If my husband lost his job, I think we could still make the payments no problem. We are doing a HELOC and the payments can be interest only. I chose my decision based on a three things. 1) It is seemingly impossible to find the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood/location on the perfect lot. It doesn't exist. Exhaustive house hunting left me 50k MORE in debt than the addition and I'd STILL have to do some changes. Plus the houses that are new are cheaper builder grade. Looks good for 10 years then not good. I'd rather have my old well built house. 2) People slam you for "want" vs "need". Listen, we could live in a hut, pee in a hole in the ground and drink river water if we had to. But we are fortunate enough to not have to. If you have worked hard and would like a little luxury in your life, do it. Yes, do keep in mind those who cannot life in the lap of luxury, but there is so little joy anymore in life, I say just do it if that's what's gonna snap your sox. Picking a contractor was the worst. Good luck if you go through this. I've been agonizing over this stuff since August and I'm JUST deciding now after doing my own research (thinking and talking about it endlessly so I can live with my decision)....See MoreFinancing options for a new deck
Comments (7)I agree with snidely.... My first thought is to build it yourself when you do have the cash. If you have several months before the project, cut your lifestyle to the bone (disable the cable, no more eating out, how much do you spend a month on cell phones, cancel vacation, and any number of other things) and save the money. I realize sacrifice rarely trumps instant gratification these days. Sell 'stuff' to raise some money - chances are, if you don't have a cash reserve, you have 'stuff'. If you insist on being in debt, then go to your local credit union or bank for a small loan - at least the interest is lower. You can find calculators for credit card purchases on-line and you soon find out how much more than $4000 that deck costs because you charged it to a card. Probably more than enough for some new patio furniture.... but you'll probably put that on the same card since what kind of a dope would have a new deck without the new furniture and grill to grace it to impress your friends you'll have over to admire your new debt, I mean DECK. Amended: I just came across this link - '12 Ways to Raise Fast Money By Next Week' and posted it below. I thought of one way I could get $500 quickly. I have a checking account where it's free if I never let it go below $500 balance, so I always reconcile the account without the $500. I could drop that account and move it to another bank/credit union (or one of our other accounts) and use that $500. You just have to get creative..... -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: The Frugal Pig This post was edited by grainlady on Tue, Jul 15, 14 at 13:40...See MoreHow did you finance your remodel?
Comments (37)100% HELOC for us - I got a great rate 3.2% and paid off our 2nd with it. It would have taken me too long to save up for it, and especially with prices always rising, it would have cost me more in the future too. We bought our house in 1993, so even with the HELOC and current values, our LTV ratio is 40% (and that's not taking into account that the recent comps are 75k over my current value). If something were to happen to us financially and we had to sell our house, we would have had to do something with the kitchen - floors, cabinets, appliances, and counter tops at a minimum. We probably could have done it - leaving the old layout - for ~$20k with DIY. Which means we still would have needed to finance it. Even though our remodel was more of a moderate, I believe we will get closer to the 90% of the cost back in value due to the fact that we opened up our layout, which is very desirable now. We could always borrow against our 401k if we had to pay off the loan, but I plan to retire at 55 - I'll have some debt, but not much and that way maybe we'll be low-income and my kids can get financial aid for college :-) I'm not a "always pay cash" person, but I also do not like having a lot of debt - pay off my cc every month (unless I get 0%), but - doesn't it kill you to see all the people who when way beyond their credit limits, and they are having all their debt written off?...See MoreSunnysmom
7 years agoBritta
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agolizzierobin
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoBritta
7 years agoUser
7 years agofreeoscar
7 years agoBritta
7 years agocaligirl5
7 years agoDenita
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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