jagercrow

Making a long story simple/short. My ex(not married)and I bought a house together as 50/50 owners with both names on the deed. We agreed to certain conditions where she would re-fi into her own name. She originally applied for a re-fi with one lender and I DID sign a document stating I wasn t owed anything out of the re-fi. Well that re-fi fell through. Months later she applied with another lender with different conditions. Well I told her I wouldn t sign the quit claim deed unless we worked some things out. Come to find out she was able to get the re-fi done without me with what I am assuming was the notarized document from the previous re-fi attempt. I thought I would have to sign more than just ONE document to get my name off the deed and the re-fi to process. So my main question to anyone who has knowledge in the area is...Does this sound correct to use a document that was intended for 1 transaction in a completely different one? Shouldn t I have been invited to closing? The re-fi is definitely funded....is there some way this was able to be done without my name being taken off the deed? As I said I m just taken back that this was all done with one signature?

A friend of mine has given me the Mini Fridge that he had out in his Garage. He lives in a rural area and usually keeps the Garage door open, so needless to say there have been a lot of critters crawling around the thing. Most notably though is tons of Mouse/Rat droppings in the drip pan. Now, I know I can clean that area, but upon further inspection I can see some droppings further back in areas I won't be able to get to. Is it safe to bring the thing into my home? I tried shooting some 409 in the areas I couldn't actually remove the droppings from..anyhow...a big part of me feels like I am being super paranoid, but I do have a 1 year old son, so being paranoid has been my thing lately...the droppings look old, so I would imagine any viruses would be long dead by now...any input would be appreciated. Thanks for your time!

Bought a home in August 2010. Looking to use the small amount of equity I have built to upgrade into a better home while the market conditions allow me to. In a perfect world I would obviously like to sell my current home first and then begin the search for a new one, however, the Wife is TERRIFIED of letting our current house go and not being guaranteed a better upgrade. So, the boss has made it mandatory we find the new home first and cocurrently then sell ours while buying the other. I've heard of this happening before, but it just seems like you would be shooting yourself in the foot negotiating wise for the new home. The only thing we have in our corner is that we plan to use the listing agent for the new home to also sell our current home. We consider ourselves saavy enough to at least use that to our advantage without worrying about the obvious downfalls of dual representation. Anyhow, just looking for some input. I appreciate any advice. Also, any input on selling our current home with an unpermitted addition to it. Some agents we've talked to basically ran for the hills because of it and others told us people might actually like it and it was common in southern California and not an issue. We bought the house with the addition and our bank didn't give us any issues and the home even qualified for FHA per the appraiser. Just looking at all sides of the equation. Thanks for your time!!

First time doing something like this. Replacing my bathroom light fixture. The new light fixture is just about the same size as the old one, however, I do need to move it to the left about 2-3 inches to center it over our new vanity. I really don't want to have to cut a hole for a new junction box...if the wires will reach can I just use the existing one? Appreciate any input/advice. Thanks for your time...

I will try to make this as short as possible. I currently have a 5% fixed 30 year home loan backed by the USDA. I got the loan back in 2010 before they added annual fees to their programs. I am looking to re-fi, and the USDA does have a streamline re-fi option available, however, it now comes with a shiny new higher "gurantee fee" and "annual fee" that to me actually makes lower 3.5% rate not worth the effort. Based on very shakey computer estimates I have about 87%($373K estimated value with $328k owed) LTV ratio in my current home. Could I re-fi out of the USDA backed loan and into a streamlined FHA/Conventional loan? My main goal is to score a lower rate without adding any new fees or PMI's to my mortgage. If I could get a miracle and have my house actually appraise with a below 80% LTV ratio doesn't that eliminate PMI with FHA? Just looking for some more info/opinions. Thanks for your time.

Live in CA and have a current 5.0% 30 year loan. Been paying on for 2 1/2 years. Maybe have a little equity in the house so not underwater. Current on payments and while everyone is "struggling" to pay their mortgage we are not in the "struggling" category where we qualify for some sort of Government modification program. Due to the attractive current rates we began the re-fi process. So, while doing this I figured..why not write a letter into my current mortgage handler and let them know I am refinancing and give them a chance to simply lower my rate? Anyone else ever done this or heard of the bank playing ball to simply keep the business? I know they are bending over backwards left and right for people who are on the brink of default...but what about the rest of us? I know..I know..we're the middle class. No break for us right? Who knows..stranger things have happened..figure I'd ask. Thank you for your time.

Just bought a Toro Lawn Mower from Home Depot Back in May. Running great for a while. Recently I noticed White Smoke starting to come out of the muffler. I thought maybe I just didn't maintain a good oil level. I put more in and did another mow. The white smoke started again and got much worse this time. I checked the oil to find that it was completely empty even though I just filled it up! Upon further inspection it appeared that oil was coming out of the Air Filter area....I don't remember doing anything that would of caused this to happen..tipping..running something over..etc. The Mower is new enough that if there is a defect than it would fall under warranty..however..I want to make sure this isn't a common problem and may be something I'm doing??? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks for your time....

My hair is a nightmare. The Wifey doesn't know what to do. Long story short I have helmet head type of hair. When it grows long it just bulks up, but the kicker is it is also thin/fine/semi wavey. How that occured I don't know. Right now I use a gel "Sexy Hair Super Hold" and comb my hair back, but when gelled it looks pretty much like I am balding and since I have thinner hair it really smashes the hair down where it looks like a sad attempt at being a greaser. My main goal is find something that won't smoosh the hair down too much and give it some body, control/straighten the wave out, have a dry look and avoid looking like I'm balding. I still want to comb my hair back, but I don't want the weighted down look. Any advice would be appreciated..by my Wife especially..thanks!

Just moved into a house with 1 acre of unmaintained property. Grass/weeds have overgrown EVERYWHERE. I am having an ok time cleaning everything up except for in a rock bed. I know all about how to prevent the grass/weeds from coming back, however, I am wondering if there is an easier way to pull the dead grass/weeds up other than getting down on my hands and knees. It is very hard on me to do, and the grass/weeds has overgrown to the point in some spots where you can't even see the rock bed underneath. I've been soaking the dead grass/weeds to make it easier to pull, but still...it's a nightmare. Is there some trick I'm missing? Some tool? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for your time. And again I don't need to kill the grass/weeds as it is already definitely dead and brown, it's just a matter of pulling it up.

I'm really slow to catch up on technology. Long story short I am interested in buying some clothing items off of a website based in Sweden. I'm in the U.S.A. Never bought from overseas before. I know the shipping will be a bit more but is there anything else I need to know? Customs fees? Etc. Just want to be prepared. Thanks for your time!

So, my wife overloaded the Washer Machine and now it won't spin or drain. I gave it 24 hours to rest, but still no luck today. When I pulled it back from the wall I noticed a ton of black debris on the ground, however, the belt underneath the Washer still looks ok, there is just a plastic fitting above one of the feet that came loose and looks like it did interfere with the belt a bit. But overloading the washer wouldn't cause one of the feet to come loose? I have a feeling the foot/belt situation has gradually been happening for a long time. Instead of spin I just hear a terrible noise come from the unit. Is there anything that is commonly broken by overloading? I have a older top loading Maytag unit...I already checked the lid switch..any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

Sick of giving the Government an interest free loan every year. I want to maximize the amount I get on my bi-weekly paycheck, however, I don't want to owe at the end of the year either. I am single, have 1 child and own a home. The Mother and I are together and also both own the home 50/50 but we aren't married. I make more than the mother. The IRS withholding calculator says I should claim 6, but it's kinda confusing and I don't know I did it 100% correct. I pay approx $327.50 in federal taxes every paycheck and the gross amount I make a paycheck is $1,986.93 and clear about $1,430.85 after taxes. Right now my withholding is at 0. Any advice would be appreciated!

Planning a trip to Las Vegas in April. Pretty familiar with Vegas, however, I am looking for a hotel room on the strip that has a Spa/Jacuzzi/Hot Tub that is specifically in the bedroom. I know quite a few have one in the bathroom, but I want one that is in the room, preferrably with a view. I know Excalibur, New York New York, Monte Carlo and Luxor have in bedroom Spa's...am I missing any???? Looking to stay on the main strip.

PVC pipes are leaking at the Water Main line. Fixed it once myself and it still had a drip leak. Had a Plumber friend come out and fix my work. Still had a drip leak and small steady stream leak. Had him come fix it AGAIN yesterday and all seemed well, until my neighbor woke me up this morning and told me the water main box was flooded. I thought the guy who is a plumber would be able to get this resolved but things aren't working out that way it seems. Are we not letting the glue set long enough? I mean this is the Water Main so it is very high pressure. I let the glue set for 3 1/2 hours last night before turning the water back on. When I turned it on I did it very slowly. My Plumber friend said he "likes" to let the glue set for 24 hours, but didn't think it would be a problem after 2 or so. I am at a loss. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!!! Last night we even used the "grey" industrial strength glue/cement...

The past few days there has been a strange chemical smell in a back area of my house. The problem is there are a few culprits and I can't narrow down which one. The smell is pretty strong and causes a headache after being in the room for a minute or so. First possible Culprit is we had Dewey Pest Control come and spray for Spiders in our attic only. There are 2 attic areas in our home. The one for the main house has no smell. The 2nd attic area is in fact in this room. Dewey insists what they used shouldn't be leaving a smell behind. It has been 3 days since they sprayed. 2nd possible culprit is we have a Rats that just settled into our wall. I've been working on getting them out, but it is possible one died in the wall area. However, I feel like a dead rat would smell more like seweage or something. Not a headache causing chemical smell? 3rd possible culprit is we have an unplugged refrigerator in the room. It has been unplugged in there for over a year and we've never had a problem. Every once in a while when we have a party we'll turn it on, but it's usually unplugged. However, the smell hits you right as you walk in the room. When I walk over and open the fridge I don't notice the smell gets stronger and it almost seems like it isn't as bad by the fridge. It really seems like it is located right by the door in the room. Which to me would mean dead Rat culprit or Dewey pest control??? Any ballpark ideas? Has this ever happened to anyone before?? Any advice is appreciated...

There is a hill of Ice Plant behind my house. For a few weeks in May/April it bloomed to a really nice Purple. But that was very short. Now it looks almost as if it is dead. How much watering should be done to maintain ice plant? I live in Southern California and the summer here right now is pretty hot. And if it is dead...can I salvage some of it by watering a lot? First time home owner and never had to deal with these kind of issues before. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for your time!

Hello,

I recently bought a very small 4 person 110 volt Coleman Spa. I don't know what year it is. I would say newer than 1995 at least. I put in a dedicated outlet that it is plugged into. Based on the research I did and asking around, I just keep it heated to 104 degrees 24 hours a day. People have told me it is best to keep it on all day then to only heat it up when you are going to use it. Usually it retains that tempature pretty well because the Spa is so small, however I do notice it kicking on every once in a while to keep it @104. Anyhow, I was prepared for paying a little extra on my energy bill, like $50 or so, but I just got my $423.00 bill in the mail. I live in San Diego CA and the summer here has been really hot. So, I am well aware that the Air Conditioning plays a huge role in the bill amount, however, even before the bills at most would be $255 or so. Anyhow, my main question...anyone have any advice/input about this Spa raising the energy bill? Does anyone think it COULD be adding more than $50 to my bill every month?? The motor is small, but I also don't have the exact details in front of me. Should I be keeping the temp up to the max 104? Also, it should be noted that I have also started running my pool filer/pump 10 hours a day instead of the 6 I was doing before. THis is my first time maintaing a pool/spa so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for your time...

I have 4 or 5 large rectangle Juniper shrubs in the front of my house lining the grass area, however, they are now overgrown to the point where they cover the sprinklers entirely. I would really like to take some hedge trimmers and trim them back but also don't want to be left with dead brown Junipers. Never had to deal with these plants before...there are also sections that almost look like they are "falling over". I also have Juniper trees that constantly have leaves falling over. I cut them off but then it exposes the brown area and I hear that doesn't grow back. Any advice would be appreciated!!

So, I bought a 110 volt Spa that uses a 20 amp power cord to plug into the outlet. I replaced the normal outlet with a 20 amp GFCI outlet since it is outdoors. So, long story short the Spa will come on for about 1 minute and then the GFCI trips. I do know the breaker itself is marked "15" so I'm assuming that the 20 amp outlet is too much for the 15 amp breaker?? However, I've had a lot of people tell me that shouldn't trip the GFCI. It should be the breaker tripping, not the GFCI outlet. So, I'm really lost on this one. I've also had A LOT of differing opinions on the GFCI. One person has told me he was told by an electrician it is best not to use GFCI's to run motors, because every time the motor starts pulling power the GFCI thinks something else is going on. On the other hand I've had people tell me not using a GFCI is just straight foolish. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to this stuff. Any advice would really be appreciated. What is causing the GFCI to trip? Should I even consider NOT using a GFCI? What could fix this? Thanks for your time....

Just bought a 110 volt Spa. I was naive and assumed the plug coming out from the tub would be your simple "connect" the extension cord and make sure there is a GFCI and it worked. However, not to my surprise it isn't that easy. The plug coming out from the Spa is a 20 amp with the 1 sideways "prong". The outlet on the side of my house is the regular 3 "prong" outlet. Is there an adapter I can use that has a male 20 amp end and a female "3 prong" end so I can attach that to the Spa and then use an extension cord to get to the outlet? I'm also going to buy a portable GFCI unit. Any advice would help. Thank you for your time.