Articles from March 2013

Appraisal

Great news – the VIB has appreciated by half of its original purchase price. We appraised well over the value that we needed in order to drop our mortgage insurance. In fact the VIB was valued high enough that we are able to take some money out (“cash out”) in order to pay down our credit card balance and then maybe do an odd repair job here or there. Or do something fun?… Read the rest

Exotic destinations and their wares: Rugs

We have a very exciting trip coming up in the next few months – Morocco. With an eye towards that, but also thinking ahead of all the other travels that I am sure we will be doing, I have been studying up on the oriental rugs. I am kicking myself for not acquiring a rug when I was in Turkey a few years ago – but back then I had not a clue of what to look for and no spare funds to spend (doing slightly better on both fronts now).… Read the rest

What to expect when you (your house, really) get appraised

So it happened. Months – almost a year! – of hard core renovation, plus some major upgrades in previous two years – A/C and repointing – and we were ready to get re-assessed. This is going to be the nitty gritty of what to expect, and is probably extremely boring for anyone not planning on this process. But the pictures are still nice )

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In the run-up to the appraisal:

  • We locked our rate with the bank, which officially gave us 45 days to get everything done, including getting approved for the loan (lots of papers!)
… Read the rest