Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Tap, tap, tap....
"Now, I have to remember how I did this?"
Tap, tap, tap... pause... tap, tap, tap.
"I did one of these -last week?"
Tap.
"That's not right. Why is it giving me..."
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap-tap.
"Okay, so you'll need $5,000 for the down." Scratches head. "That doesn't look right. Let me try..."

(20 minutes later)

Tap, tap, tap...
"Wait. Alright, based on this, you won't need a down. That's covered. Hmmm... No, no, no. (sigh) Let me try it this way."

(20 minutes later)

Tap, tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, backspace... tap.
"Okay, You'll need $2,000 at closing."

In the course of an hour, the amount of money we need to have down (and the money is not in hand) went from five thousand dollars to zero to two-thousand dollars. I think if we'd stayed longer, we might have had a couple of more quotes.

As a snapshot of why the economy might be the way that it is... this might not be a bad example. Meanwhile, I'm checking the want-ads for second jobs, looking at creative ways to stretch our finances. I've got the grocery bill down. We're running on pancakes and beans and rice. I'm starting to take money saving tips from Les Miserables.

6 comments:

The Film Geek said...

I still remember the nervous feeling I got from that tap-tap-tap...

Good luck, man.

Mike said...

did you close yet? might be able to help..I might be able to suggest a broker...

primalscreamx said...

Nah, we've got all the parts -except the money. It all comes down to whether we can raise the cash and clean up a few credit report a little. The situation got a bit tougher because my wife can't be included on the loan, which then caused my numbers to change... It's completely bizarre.

Mike said...

sent you an email at your yahoo address..might help

Karin Fuller said...

I remember what a nightmare it was trying to buy (and especially sell) our house. Good luck. It'll be worth it.

primalscreamx said...

Today, they're doing the inspection. It's yet another chance for everything to come apart. It would sure be nice to not have to choose the loan with the smallest hoops to jump through.