Comments on: The Friday Gathering – Need some advice edition

By: My Dollar Plan

My Dollar Plan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:24:19 +0000

I agree with the other readers that suggesting getting an inspector to take a look. If you let it go while you are saving up, it could cause more damage which would be much more expensive in the end.

If you have a trusted real estate agent, it might not be a bad idea to get their input about whether the increased value in the sale would cover the loan.

HELOCs are at very low rates right now. Be sure to get one without fees or closing costs. You should be able to do that easily in today’s market.

Thanks for mentioning the new Kids and Money site at About.com!

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:40:07 +0000

Anything that has any type of water damage should be fixed as soon as possible. Another year will certainly cause much more damage if you have a leak!

I’m as allergic as you are to loans, but I’d have someone out looking at my chimney this week and be figuring out how to pay for repairs – the construction industry is struggling right now – terms and prices are pretty good. You might be surprised at what prices actually are.

The other thing that I have seen (I own rental houses in GA) is that sometime what looks like water damage is termite damage. The termites damage the wood (looks fine outside but has tunnels inside) and then rain adds to it, making it appear as water damage when it isn’t.

Estimates are free – waiting can have steep costs!

By: C Edwards

C Edwards — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:29:22 +0000

My comment deals with the house in the country you want to purchase.

Be sure to calculate the cost of transportation for things like your commute to work, to go shopping, for entertainment, any children’s activities, etc.

I see people making the mistake of not figuring the cost of transportation into their plans and are later shocked at the cost.

The cost of gas alone is now significant and according to experts is likely to go higher.

The only proposal coming out of Congress is a windfall profits tax on oil companies which will not produce a single gallon, cubic foot or kilowatt hour of fuel or power. And who will end up paying such a tax? You and me as oil companies raise their prices to cover the tax.

Just make sure you take all of this into account in making such a big decision.

By: Ron@TheWisdomJournal

Ron@TheWisdomJournal — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:11:59 +0000

Ouch.
I had the same problem with my last house, but I ended up and replaced everything myself, rebuilt and repainted it.
Materials, including a rental lift, was less than $1,000. It might be worth a shot if you have a friend who can do it on the cheap with your help.

Thanks for the mention BTW!

By: Lee

Lee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:08:48 +0000

Personally, I think that you know it’s best to stay away from the loans, especially since you obviously don’t have any peace about it. There would also be a lot of uncertainty in it. My advice would be to stop all extra debt repayment or unessential spending. Then, put every bit of money you can into necessary house repairs. All the while, seriously pray for the best deals and more income flow. Then you ought to see progress, and at the right time, you’ll know when to buy another home, and the right direction to go.

By: Becky@FamilyandFinances

Becky@FamilyandFinances — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:52:53 +0000

I’ll second the idea of finding out if waiting will further damage the home, making the repairs more expensive if you wait (or downright dangerous). I would also start saving immediately in a “home repair” fund!

I used to work in insurance. I agree with above posters, this sounds like a maintenance issue, not a sudden, Act of God issue. It never hurts to call your agent, but I will guess that this will not be covered.

By: Braunn

Braunn — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:35:42 +0000

Estimates, estimates, estimates…but that’s been covered.

One thing I didn’t see mentioned, though, was an alternative to an actual HELOC. Are you planning to do the repairs yourself? If not, you may be able to find a contractor who is willing to perform the renovations for you and settle up when you close on the sale of the home.

I don’t know how quickly or seriously you are approaching the home sale aspect of this, but I know that’s what the wife and I are doing with the new carpet/cabinetry in our home as we fix it up for sale.

By: rocketc

rocketc — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:17:57 +0000

Thanks for the link!

If you would like a home in WI, let me know. I could hook you up.

By: Lorri

Lorri — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:01:51 +0000

Home equity loan in my opinion would be the best option. I do not look at this as debt due to the fact it is being used to make much needed repairs so that you can sell the home. I have a similar situation with my home only the foundation has cracked and it will be about 10k to fix it, I am going to make the other repairs such as painting etc. But I plan to reduce my asking price by the amount required to fix it( I have an estimate) in order to sell it faster. This problem is not something that has to be done as it is not that serious, if the new homeowners want it fixed the price is reduced if they can live with it then they got the home cheaper than I would be able to sell for if I did the repairs.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:44:11 +0000

Thanks for mentioning The Money Life Network’s contest we’ve got running – I should also mention we just added two new members to the network, one of them Kacie from sensetosave.com who just commented above.

I would try not to go into debt to fix the problem – I would save up until you have enough to fix – unless – you have firm plans to sell and you know that you could pay the debt off right away. Barring that though, I would do as you usually would tell people, and steer clear of the debt.

Good luck!