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I mean, I could probably just have it done and since it only take a couple of days, the odds some random city inspector will drive by during that time and see work being done without a permit being displayed is pretty small. And my neighbors are cool, so if I just tell them, "Hey, getting a fence replaced" they'll be fine with it, especially since it's so dilapidated it's falling into their yards. But the issue could be if I sell it and tell the buyer the fence was replaced in 2016. If they want to verify that I'm telling the truth AND it was done properly, they can pull the permit. No permit means it wasn't done the "right" way and they could use that to try and pay less and claim they'll have to get it redone themselves since there's no proof it was done right, or something. Likely? No. Possible? Yes.
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Oct 20, 2016 14:58
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How many of you are making extra principal payments? I just purchased a condo, and the difference between my loaded house payment (mortgage, taxes, HOA) and my old rent amount is about $375. I'm thinking about taking that extra $375 a month and putting it towards the principal on the condo. According to the calculator on bankrate.com, paying an extra $375 a month would pretty much cut my 30 year mortgage to a 15 year, and save me $55k in interest. If I don't plan on living here for 15 or even 30 years though, is there really any value? I know that in theory I'd get the extra equity back out when I sold the place eventually, but I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do here.
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Oct 20, 2016 17:34
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DJCobol posted:How many of you are making extra principal payments? I just purchased a condo, and the difference between my loaded house payment (mortgage, taxes, HOA) and my old rent amount is about $375. I'm thinking about taking that extra $375 a month and putting it towards the principal on the condo. According to the calculator on bankrate.com, paying an extra $375 a month would pretty much cut my 30 year mortgage to a 15 year, and save me $55k in interest. If I don't plan on living here for 15 or even 30 years though, is there really any value? I know that in theory I'd get the extra equity back out when I sold the place eventually, but I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do here. Make sure you're not going to be penalized by the lender for applying to the principal or early payoff.
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Oct 20, 2016 17:50
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DJCobol posted:How many of you are making extra principal payments? I just purchased a condo, and the difference between my loaded house payment (mortgage, taxes, HOA) and my old rent amount is about $375. I'm thinking about taking that extra $375 a month and putting it towards the principal on the condo. According to the calculator on bankrate.com, paying an extra $375 a month would pretty much cut my 30 year mortgage to a 15 year, and save me $55k in interest. If I don't plan on living here for 15 or even 30 years though, is there really any value? I know that in theory I'd get the extra equity back out when I sold the place eventually, but I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do here. I only did to get rid of my PMI. After that the interest rate was low, so I'm investing the rest in other ways.
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Oct 20, 2016 18:30
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life is killing me posted:Make sure you're not going to be penalized by the lender for applying to the principal or early payoff. The Big Jesus posted:I only did to get rid of my PMI. After that the interest rate was low, so I'm investing the rest in other ways.
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Oct 20, 2016 18:48
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DJCobol posted:Already checked, not going to be an issue. 1) Max your 401(k) 2) Pay down principal (expected return = your interest rate) 3) Invest in taxable funds (expected return = market average) 4) 
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Oct 20, 2016 19:40
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With rates less than 4%, you're probably better off investing rather than paying the mortgage off early. That said, paying the mortgage down obviously carries less risk and is still a good choice Probably you should make sure that you are making a maximum yearly contribution to an IRA and to your 401k before you start paying extra into your mortgage
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Oct 20, 2016 20:28
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QuarkJets posted:With rates less than 4%, you're probably better off investing rather than paying the mortgage off early. That said, paying the mortgage down obviously carries less risk and is still a good choice I max out my Roth and my HSA. I don't max out the 401(k) though because I dont like the options I have through my employer's plan. It's just in a target year fund, but the ER is twice as much as my Vanguard options in my Roth.
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Oct 20, 2016 20:55
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DJCobol posted:I max out my Roth and my HSA. I don't max out the 401(k) though because I dont like the options I have through my employer's plan. It's just in a target year fund, but the ER is twice as much as my Vanguard options in my Roth. Tax benefits and the ability to roll it over to Vanguard when you move companies probably still make it worth it.
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Oct 20, 2016 20:57
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Grumpwagon posted:Tax benefits and the ability to roll it over to Vanguard when you move companies probably still make it worth it. It sounds like they might all be active funds, which IIRC tend to underperform by a few percent vs index funds. If the performance of those funds is poor, then he might be better off investing in index funds with a taxable account. I think the answer between "contribute to 401k cap" and "invest in taxable accounts instead" would depend on how poorly those funds perform, how much higher their expense ratios are, and your tax bracket. And it also depends on how much you value liquidity
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Oct 20, 2016 22:19
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DrBouvenstein posted:But the issue could be if I sell it and tell the buyer the fence was replaced in 2016. If they want to verify that I'm telling the truth AND it was done properly, they can pull the permit. No permit means it wasn't done the "right" way and they could use that to try and pay less and claim they'll have to get it redone themselves since there's no proof it was done right, or something. Likely? No. Possible? Yes.
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Oct 20, 2016 22:20
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DJCobol posted:I max out my Roth and my HSA. I don't max out the 401(k) though because I dont like the options I have through my employer's plan. It's just in a target year fund, but the ER is twice as much as my Vanguard options in my Roth. Well obviously contribute up to the 401k match if any. That poo poo is free money.
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Oct 20, 2016 22:48
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Bozart posted:Well obviously contribute up to the 401k match if any. That poo poo is free money. I'm above the percentage I need for full match from my company, I'm just not going to contribute the full $18k this year that I can. Back to house stuff: any advice for fixing bulging drywall? Some of the walls in my house it looks like maybe the paper has peeled away from the board itself, or maybe it was just done in a really lovely manner by the previous owner. I want to paint some of the walls, but I want to fix them first. I'm hoping I don't have to replace the drywall.
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Oct 20, 2016 22:59
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life is killing me posted:Some of those are understandable, such as easements and rights-of-way. How much of that can be taken care of with a survey? Do you have one? DJCobol posted:How many of you are making extra principal payments? I just purchased a condo, and the difference between my loaded house payment (mortgage, taxes, HOA) and my old rent amount is about $375. I'm thinking about taking that extra $375 a month and putting it towards the principal on the condo. According to the calculator on bankrate.com, paying an extra $375 a month would pretty much cut my 30 year mortgage to a 15 year, and save me $55k in interest. If I don't plan on living here for 15 or even 30 years though, is there really any value? I know that in theory I'd get the extra equity back out when I sold the place eventually, but I'm trying to figure out the best thing to do here.
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Oct 21, 2016 00:12
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DJCobol posted:I'm above the percentage I need for full match from my company, I'm just not going to contribute the full $18k this year that I can. On the walls or ceiling? We have some bulging drywall on the ceiling, it's because the PO forgot to winterize the outdoor spigot, so it burst at some point and soaked the drywall... which led to the drywall becoming detached from the nails that were holding it up. If you're sure you aren't just covering up water damage, use a bunch of drywall screws to reattach it to the studs. Once you've fixed the screwheads, you should be all set.
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Oct 21, 2016 02:23
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devicenull posted:On the walls or ceiling? We have some bulging drywall on the ceiling, it's because the PO forgot to winterize the outdoor spigot, so it burst at some point and soaked the drywall... which led to the drywall becoming detached from the nails that were holding it up. It's on the walls. it just looks bulgy and wavy. I tried pushing on it but there didn't seem to be any give to it. The ceilings are all 70s era popcorn ceilings that will get taken care of next year.
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Oct 21, 2016 02:32
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DJCobol posted:How many of you are making extra principal payments? Yup! It's essentially a guaranteed return, so why not? I'm putting an extra hundred a month into my mortgage (750$ altogether) and at that rate I'll cut ten years off. 5% of my pay goes into my company's lovely 401k for the match, and then anther 5% into a betterment Roth IRA. I could do more, but I want to be able to enjoy myself and spend on hobbies and experiences and not be house poor. Plus it's good to build up savings for the inevitable bad stuff in life. Regularly socking away a little bit in each category puts you head and shoulders above most Americans anyways
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Oct 21, 2016 03:10
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Yeah I think it's best to max out your 401k employer match and make sure that you have 3-6 months of living expenses saved up, beyond that paying down your mortgage early and investing more for retirement are both good options
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Oct 21, 2016 03:37
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Grumpwagon posted:Tax benefits and the ability to roll it over to Vanguard when you move companies probably still make it worth it. DJCobol posted:I max out my Roth and my HSA. I don't max out the 401(k) though because I dont like the options I have through my employer's plan. It's just in a target year fund, but the ER is twice as much as my Vanguard options in my Roth.
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Oct 21, 2016 06:17
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I bought a house yesterday. I've ready been to Home Depot 5 times. This is my life now, isn't it?
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Oct 23, 2016 07:17
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Yup! Welcome to the party.
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Oct 23, 2016 08:31
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Citizen Z posted:I bought a house yesterday. The rate of visits decrease. Because you get used to full plan shopping even if it's for unplanned events. But you forget ONE LITTLE BUT NECESSARY THING and go back anyway. So...yeah I guess it doesn't get better nearly as much as you think, but definitely better 
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Oct 23, 2016 15:19
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balancedbias posted:The rate of visits decrease. You just learn where everything is, so your trips get shorter. I'm pretty good at guessing where stuff is at Lowes now. I've built up a pretty substantial cache of parts, but someone I still always need something else. Just wait until the employees start recognizing you.
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Oct 24, 2016 01:00
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I've been told that it's not real DIY if you don't have to go back to Bunnings (Australian home depot equivalent) half way through your project to pick up something you missed the first time around.
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Oct 24, 2016 09:23
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slap me silly posted:Yup! Welcome to the One helpful tip is to just buy everything you think you might possibly need upfront, and then return what you don't use after you're done. This is especially helpful for plumbing jobs, eg just buy every fitting size you might need
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Oct 24, 2016 11:59
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OSU_Matthew posted:One helpful tip is to just buy everything you think you might possibly need upfront, and then
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Oct 24, 2016 13:02
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And if, after 10 years of mouldering, you finally decide to toss it, you will suddenly have a use for exactly that thing within the month.
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Oct 24, 2016 13:22
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Whosoever among us does not have a shelf full of Home Depot mystery bags full of two-to-six-year-old-intended-for-return-items may cast the first stone.
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Oct 24, 2016 14:11
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Is there anything I can spray on my deck to make it moss resistant? I power washed it all off over the weekend, but it's super shady back there so it's just going to grow back.
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Oct 24, 2016 16:27
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We budgeted for hardwood in the kitchen, saved, ordered it for install...then discovered we're gonna need a much bigger house sooner than we had planned. No more spending money on this house, we'll gonna need to move in three years. ...a house with what space we need at the entrance to our neighborhood went up for sale this week.
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Oct 24, 2016 17:43
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DrBouvenstein posted:if I sell it and tell the buyer the fence was replaced in 2016 I got gutters on my home last week, but half of the downspouts are placed/pointed differently than the diagram in the contract. This wouldn't have happened if they had kept my Wednesday appointment that I took a half day off of work for! I called them 3 hours into the morning going, "Are you guys coming or not?" and found out they forgot to put me on the schedule at all.  They had to come out the next day and do it unsupervised while I was at work, which apparently they were not trustworthy enough for.
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Oct 24, 2016 17:47
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Ghostnuke posted:Is there anything I can spray on my deck to make it moss resistant? I power washed it all off over the weekend, but it's super shady back there so it's just going to grow back. The same stuff they put on roofs to keep moss at bay. I think they mostly use zinc but you can use bleach too. Either should be effective for a while but you'll wanna make sure you don't gently caress up any plants around your deck.
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Oct 24, 2016 17:57
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OSU_Matthew posted:One helpful tip is to just buy everything you think you might possibly need upfront, and then return what you don't use after you're done. This is especially helpful for plumbing jobs, eg just buy every fitting size you might need Another helpful tip is to buy a house <5 minutes from the nearest hardware store.
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Oct 25, 2016 01:01
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devicenull posted:Another helpful tip is to buy a house <5 minutes from the nearest hardware store. I did exactly that, but the local hardware store is closed every goddamn time I need them the most. After six or seven on weekdays, closed Sundays, terrible Saturday hours, basically every time I'm actually doing something around the house. Completely negates being within easy walking distance 
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Oct 25, 2016 03:36
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Speaking of hardware stores - has anybody here done their own TV mount? I've wall mounted a computer monitor, but never a TV. Also, I would want to run the cables through the wall. Is it worth it to just pay somebody $200 or are the tools I'd need (I really ONLY have a drill) useful in the future for other projects?
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Nov 4, 2016 00:24
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Speaking of hardware stores - has anybody here done their own TV mount? I've wall mounted a computer monitor, but never a TV. Also, I would want to run the cables through the wall. Is it worth it to just pay somebody $200 or are the tools I'd need (I really ONLY have a drill) useful in the future for other projects? Yes, I wall mounted my heavy 42" plasma when we moved in about six months ago. As far as I'm concerned you need two tools, a drill and a studfinder, one of which you have and the other of which is cheap and very useful as a homeowner. To do the cables through the wall I think you'd need a sheetrock saw as well (less than $10). A level and measuring tape would be useful as well, but again cheap and useful. I used the Monoprice wall mount which was cheap and worked well.
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Nov 4, 2016 03:08
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BeastOfExmoor posted:Yes, I wall mounted my heavy 42" plasma when we moved in about six months ago. As far as I'm concerned you need two tools, a drill and a studfinder, one of which you have and the other of which is cheap and very useful as a homeowner. To do the cables through the wall I think you'd need a sheetrock saw as well (less than $10). A level and measuring tape would be useful as well, but again cheap and useful. Oh I actually do have the stud finder as well. My lazy friend keeps trying to convince me to "just pay some guy $250 to come do it" and I am thinking - I've mounted a monitor, I live in this house, I like playing with tools, it seems like a fun project, why not? I've seen an attachment for a drill that lets you cut through drywall, and I found my wife's old measuring tape and level. So I think I have my answer, thanks!
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Nov 4, 2016 18:06
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EAT FASTER!!!!!! posted:Oh I actually do have the stud finder as well. My lazy friend keeps trying to convince me to "just pay some guy $250 to come do it" and I am thinking - I've mounted a monitor, I live in this house, I like playing with tools, it seems like a fun project, why not? For cutting a hole for wires you just want to use a drywall saw, no need for a drill attachment. Also it goes against code to run a normal power cable in the wall, so you will probably need one of these. https://www.amazon.com/PowerBridge-Recessed-Management-PowerConnect-Wall-Mounted/dp/B00GWGZKF6
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Nov 4, 2016 18:13
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Hardwood flooring going in the kitchen! e: gotta get that sweet 6% cash discount. 
devmd01 fucked around with this message at 18:34 on Nov 4, 2016 |
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Nov 4, 2016 18:27
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Hashtag Banterzone posted:For cutting a hole for wires you just want to use a drywall saw, no need for a drill attachment. Ah so everything else (HDMI, component, etc) is ok to run through the wall? Cool!
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Nov 4, 2016 18:28
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