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Essential Mortgage Paperwork Explained

They say to always read through an entire contract before signing anything, including the fine print. But, when you are obtaining a mortgage, there are hundreds and hundred of pages of legal jargon to read through if you are going to sign it. This is why it’s so important to have a Realtor representing you: they will explain the whole document, which saves you a big headache. It’s extremely crucial to know what you’re agreeing to before you sign. For starters, check out this article by Zillow at Yahoo Homes. It’s a list of the most important things you will sign:

-The Loan Estimate/Closing Disclosure- It details loan terms, projected payments over the life of your mortgage, and line item closing costs.

-The Promissory Note- The note is your loan contract, and contains the terms of your loan.

-The security instrument (aka “the mortgage” or “the deed of trust”)-Both a mortgage and a deed of trust pledge the property as security for the note.

Photo Credit: Jessica Spengler

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You’ve Probably Never Heard Of These Mortgage Terms

by Kathy T.

..Unless you’re a Realtor. Even complete laymen probably have an understanding of the most basic of real estate terms: equity, closing, and mortgage are all fairly common words. However, when you actually get elbow-deep into the world of home buying, words often pop up that you’ve probably never heard of before: amortization, escrow, principal/interest- not to mention the plethora of actual mortgage types out there. For a great guide, check out this post by Paul Sian at CinCinKy Real Estate:

Amortization-Is the paying off a debt (principal plus interest) in fixed payments over a set period of time.

Escrow-An account setup by the lender to hold money for payment of home insurance and property taxes.

P&I – Principal and Interest- P&I will be your normal monthly mortgage payment excluding escrow account payments if any.

Photo Credit: Christopher Michel

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Friday Fun Video: Communication Tips

by Kathy T.

These are great tips for professionals, but everyone can use these in their every day life.

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Chore Hacks

by Kathy T.

Cleaning is fairly straightforward- you splash soap and water on something, then scrub it off and dry it. Voila! Pretty hard to mess up, right? Well, it turns out that it can be even simpler than that. You may be doing lots of extra work and not even know it. Check out this post by Michelle Hainer at the Trulia blog for chores that you may have been doing wrong all along:

-Scrub shower doors and curtains- To remove stubborn soap scum from glass doors, sprinkle a used dryer sheet with water and start scrubbing.

-Keep your bathroom clean each day- Stash a microfiber cloth under the sink and use it (wet) to wipe down the sinks, countertops, and faucets.

-Clean your oven- pour salt into spills immediately, let cool, then wipe clean.

-Dust ceiling fans- Slide an old pillowcase over the fan blade and then pull it back. Voilà! All of the dust and dirt will be contained inside.

Photo Credit: Osseous

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Battery Charging And Car Batteries

by Ron Hogan Leave a Comment

I’ve been a car charger person since I first got my phone, and it seems like a strange thing to me that I never once considered the effect of charging my phone on my car battery. Sitting listening to the radio with the engine off? Driving down the interstate? Pretty much anywhere or any time, I am more than willing to plug my phone in if I feel like I’m going to need a little extra juice from the battery. It’s not often that I really do this, mind you, but from time to time I’ll plug in without the car running, just because. Turns out, that actually does run your car battery down.

Score one for my father, who hates when you leave anything plugged in or otherwise drawing power with the engine off. However, while it does work down the battery, modern phones only charge when they need to or when they’re in use, which means that if you walk away and leave your phone plugged in, it’ll draw some off your battery, but not so much that you’ll run down your car’s battery. Unless of course your alternator is bad and your car battery is already close to dead, in which case your charged phone might be doing you a favor because better to have a dead car and a life phone than a dead car and a deader phone, right?

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Helping Your Kids Fall Asleep

by Kathy T.

I’m really fortunate, so we’ve never had much trouble getting my nephew to sleep. He is one and a half, and has been solidly sleeping through the night since he was about 2 months old. He has a set bedtime each night, and we follow through on his routine. Sometimes, he fights it for a few minutes, but he’s always out like a light in no time. If you’re having trouble establishing a bedtime routine and getting your kid to sleep, check out this article by Lauren at The Military Wife and Mom for a great tip:

All I do is take deep breaths myself, and then he follows. You see, deep breathing is just like yawning. It’s contagious! And it’s a completely subconscious cause and effect rhythm that you can fall into with your child.

When hugging or cuddling in a way that is natural for you and your child, the deep breathing becomes contagious between you. All you have to do is start the rhythm and your child will pick up on it. This technique is something you can use at any age.

Photo Credit : Brandon Atkinson

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When Should You Hire A Financial Expert?

by Kathy T.

Navigating the worlds of personal finance, taxes, loans, and investments can be harrowing- especially if you are just starting out and have no previous experience. But, how do you know when to DIY it (thank you, Google! ), and when to actually shell out the cash for a financial adviser or other expert? Well, this guide by Dailyworth at Popsugar Finance is a great place to start:

-Credit Repair- DIY. Many “credit repair” businesses are scams. You can repair your credit by maintaining several lines of credit, paying bills on time, and reducing debt.

-Investments- DIY. Choose low cost index funds that mimic the market. Many places provide free asset allocation worksheets.

-Taxes- hire a pro. Tax law is complicated and changes constantly: it’s the pro’s job to stay on top of it. A good tax person can also show you the best ways to minimize your bill.

Photo Credit: US Army Africa

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What Should You Use To Make Money For Your Blog?

by Kathy T.

So, you’ve finally done it. You’ve started your own blog, and are pouring you passion into words online. You’ve even started to get somewhat of a following- subscribers, repins, and Facebook shares. Congrats! Now it’s time to kick it up a notch and get paid for what you’re doing. A common question of many beginning bloggers is: how? Well, there are different avenues you can take when monetizing your blog. To find out what’s best for you, read this post by Mike Allton at the Site Sell blog for ideas:

-Sell adspace, make money by putting up ads.

-Get sponsors, write sponsored posts

-Make affiliate recommendations

-Sell your own products and services (perfect for Realtors or artists).

-Mixing too many monetization methods will confuse and distract your audience.

-You can try a few and see which methods, not just work better in terms of revenue, but which ones suit you.

Photo Credit: John Lambert Pearson

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Five Windows 10 Secrets

by Ron Hogan Leave a Comment

If you’re one of the people who took advantage of Microsoft’s offer to upgrade to Windows 10 without any cost, you’re braver than I am. I considered it strongly, then backed out. After all, I only have the one laptop, and without it I can’t do… well, anything, so I decided to err on the side of caution and to keep things in good working order until such time as I am able to experiment at my leisure or until my work upgrades to Windows 10. However, some people didn’t wait, and perhaps they’re looking for some helpful tips on how to get the most out of Win10. Here are 5 secrets to help you fall for Windows 10.

Of the listed features, my favorite is the idea of the multiple desktops. I use a virtual desktop at my work, in addition to my desktop computer. Neither performs great, but one tends to degrade the other. If I had a better computer, or when my computer worked better, I loved having a desktop for one set of job duties and one for the other set. I would love to have a work desktop, a play desktop, and a gaming desktop on my current computer, if only to help me be more productive when I’m typing away at blog posts like this one.

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Rare, Collector's Edition… VHS Tapes?

by Ron Hogan Leave a Comment

You’d think that, these days, everything you’d want to see exists in some form in which you can reach it. If it’s not on DVD, then surely it’s online or uploaded digitally somewhere. However, that’s not the case. Before there was the digital revolution, there was the tape revolution, as VHS tapes and home video devices made it possible for movies to get made and get to the masses like never before. Staggering, right? Lots of little companies and independent folks were able to make a surprising amount of money filling video store shelves.

Sadly, video stores are gone. Even the hold-outs, like my beloved Wild and Woolly Video, have closed down. The shelves are bare, and where there are still shelves, you won’t find very many VHS tapes. Still, there are a lot of things out there where VHS is the only way you can see it, including the original versions of the Star Wars films. There’s a collector’s market out there, and the weird and obscure are rewarded with some serious financial compensation. Here are 9 rare and valuable types of collectible VHS tapes.

It’s kind of amazing, really. I’m a physical media collector, and I admit that I have boxes of VHS tapes that are (I assume) difficult to find on digital media. I might actually see if some of my tapes are valuable, or I might just hold onto them and enjoy them until my VCR finally kicks the bucket. We shall see just how deep the goldmine goes.

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