Trying to get a loan to install a new boiler in this house ought to be easy. I’ve been paying off as many debts as quickly as anyone on social security can, but apparently not fast enough. Never mind that the money has almost entirely been spent trying to keep the house from falling apart. What I don’t “get” is that this is a zero percent loan. They aren’t even paying out the money. National Grid is paying the money.

Also, It’s not a huge number. At zero percent, it’s easy to pay off. But they have a computer. When it dings, you’re donged.

So I have a choice: find a lender with a soul, or not pay my mortgage until I have saved up enough money, and then pray that the the bank will make a deal. Or we wind up on the street. I’m hoping we won’t wind up in the street because I don’t think we would last long. We’re a little old for that. It’s ironic. We make too much money to get housing assistance, but NOT enough to really afford housing. Once more, we have fallen between the chairs.

There turned out to be a third solution. Refinancing the house. This got a little complicated because we are on a H.A.R.P. program which was one of Obama’s programs to get mortgage rates down and under control. To do that, our existing bank refinanced us at a substantially lower rate (4.8%) and HUD took over $80,000 of the mortgage. It dropped our mortgage payment by almost $1000. This was good because I had cancer at the time and being on the street didn’t seem a practical solution for us.

One wet daylily

In the meantime, thanks to Trump’s astounding management of our economy, mortgage rates have dropped to the lowest they have ever been, at least in my lifetime. We locked in at 3%. That gives us a slightly lower payment even though the new mortgage INCLUDES the $80,000 HUD was holding and gives us enough cash back to pay for the boiler, fix the back door, and maybe replace the toilet in my bathroom. And if we are very lucky, maybe we will have enough to put some cabinets in the kitchen. A girl can dream.

Daylilies

We still have to get through the appraisal, get a couple of pounds of paperwork to Missouri — which is interesting because Missouri just went back into lockdown and everyone is working from home. I hope the appraiser “gets” that we are a home “in progress.” That’s why we need the loan. Meanwhile, we have a tentative go. We couldn’t get a $7000 zero percent loan, but we CAN get a $262,000 mortgage? Does this make any sense to anyone? This is a standard 30-year fixed rate mortgage. If any of you are looking to refinance, this is a good time to do it. We are working with Mutual of Omaha. I decided to go with someone I’ve heard of this time. People who know how to manage a mortgage? At least they’ve been in the mortgage business for 111 years. Some of the people who called us have been in the mortgage business for about as long as a week. Been there. Done that. I didn’t feel like doing it again. They give you a mortgage, then they sell you to someone else in a matter of days and then you get sold again and again until you are dizzy and have no idea to whom to send your payment.

The daylilies and roses are blooming. Now that the feeders are back up, we have flocks of goldfinches and red finches … and very young squirrels.

Categories: Blackstone Valley, Flowers, Money, Photography

Tags: Banks, heat in winter, home repairs, Marilyn Armstrong, money