Domiciling

Apr. 26th, 2015 07:49 pm
elessa: (fluffy bunny)
Feeling a bit defeated. Rent increases as of May 1 to an amount equivalent to one paycheck. Decided to look into purchasing property rather than continuing to rent. I have come to the realisation that is not going to occur during the next couple years at least.

While I qualify for a mortgage, I actually do not have the physical cash to make a purchase of any kind happen.

Right now the market where I live is hot. There simply is not enough inventory for everyone who seeks to buy. People are either paying cash outright for houses or condos; or there are bidding wars with sellers getting offers anywhere from 5-25% over the asking amount. This is insane.

Yesterday while looking at three different properties there was a very steady stream of other interested buyers. One house I looked at had fourteen offers in a single day. The offer taken was for 18% higher than what the house listed for. Another I was interested in was listed, then in pending sale within three hours of listing.

Sellers are not accepting offers which are for government funded loans, eg FHA loans with NHF grants or VA loans. Conventional loans with higher down payment requirements are the ones being considered. In addition to the down payment of a minimum 5% an additional 3-4% is necessary for closing costs.

I simply cannot compete with what I have in savings. After talking to four mortgage brokers I now understand the interest in whether or not I can borrow against my 401(k). I simply refuse to borrow for a down payment. It makes no sense to me to lessen the retirement investment that I had to begin from scratch three years ago after two years of unemployment and two years of underemployment saw my previous 401(k) and savings get spent in order to survive.

I have also decided some things about what I want out of a place to live. If a house, I do not want a large yard. However, I want a park-like setting. As in, I do not want the neighbor's house to be so close I can stand twixt the two and touch both. I want someplace with a lot of natural light. Quite a few of the homes I have toured are quite dark inside.

I do not want a house or condo which has water, termite, or wood rot damage. I do not want a house or condo which needs an additional $35K of renovation to make it livable right off the bat.

Painting, new carpet or other cosmetic fixes are perfectly fine. I expect that. It is part of making a new home a personalised sanctuary.

So, plan is to renew the lease for another year. Continue to pay down credit card debt. Put into savings what I can each month as I have been. Lessening the credit card debt; paying it off in the next twenty four months; and becoming debt free will allow me to then begin to save even more money per month for a mortgage.

Past history cycles indicate that there will be a downturn in the economy beginning the end of 2016. Perhaps then I will be in a better position to look again for a place to buy.
elessa: (wyveri)
In order to lose weight I really need to stop eating dessert foods. It defeats the purpose of eating an otherwise "healthy" diet of vegetables and seafood on occasion. Hard to resist the temptation of all the sugary things at the office. Must figure out a way to convince myself that sugar cookies, lemon bars, and cupcakes are not in my best interest. But, damn, they taste so good.

Yeah, so good you have gained five pounds over the last few weeks. ~sigh
elessa: (wyveri)
Been a lonely day. It was gloriously beautiful outside. However, I could not motivate myself to do anything away from the apartment. I truly wish I had a relationship with someone. It would help with having someone to share activities with. Someone to entice me to leave my abode to live. ~sigh
elessa: (aargh kitty)
today i joined the ACLU

why? because i am pissed. i am tired of the loss of commonsense in this country. this is no longer a country i am proud to be a citizen of.

the impetus?

this article in the NY times

A Hong Kong computer programmer who had legally resided in the US for 15 years (since he was 17) and fathered two American children went for his final green card interview and was locked up, detained until he died of cancer that the DHS refused to treat him for. He had overstayed a visa (the DHS sent a key notice to the wrong address), and this prompted the DHS to lock him away and demand that he waive all right to immigration appeal and be immediately deported. In detention, his complaints of excruciating back pain were treated as fakery, and he was dragged around in shackles after he lost the ability to walk, taken on long, bumpy drives while official demanded that he drop his immigration appeals. The jailers who caused his death were private contractors with fat deals with the DHS to lock up immigration detainees.

As he lay dying, his family -- wife and two children, aged 1 and 3 -- were denied access to him while the warden considered their request to visit.

"Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses..."


the united states is no different than china, darfur, russia, north korea or any one of a number of countries we look down our noses at and "tut tut".
elessa: (Default)
"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us."

- Marcel Proust
elessa: (trees)
i am not so sure this is a good idea...

salmon spawn trout in experiment

will man ever learn to stop meddling. yes, noble idea. i just think it is wrong to put into practice.

especially after i read:

In Japan, Yoshizaki is focused on bluefin tuna, noting that standard "marine ranching" techniques are difficult for tuna that can reach man-size.

He has begun experiments into how to produce baby tuna from mackerel, which are nearly a thousand times smaller than adult tuna. If it works, "we can save space, cost and labor," he predicted in an e-mail interview.
elessa: (pink flowers)
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense." Ralph Waldo Emerson
elessa: (trees)
an interesting dilemma.

you are given a diagnosis of six months to a year to live. you decide that you want to live life to the fullest during your time left.

as a result you quit your job, sell your car, give away the majority of your clothing and other belongings, stop paying your mortgage and spend your life savings traveling, eating in expensive restaurants, etc.

a year later you are not only still alive, you are pretty much healed.

as a result you find yourself in deep financial difficulties.

do you sue the medical provider for misdiagnosis? or do you accept that you are responsible for your own actions?

Patient given wrong diagnosis of year to live now faces bankruptcy

July 2017

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