I'm with RG on insurance. Having been through a few disasters now, I know first hand the lack of coverage that will come from the feds if you aren't insured. If you make a decent living (and we all do in this forum), the best you'll ever get is a "low interest" loan from the SBA. My new house is up on a hillside, well outside of any flood zones, so I was fortunate enough to not need any, but I did opt for earthquake insurance, simply because the risk is there, and 20% deductable is still better than a loan for the full replacement value.... But it didn't cost me thousands, only hundreds a year, so I understand your hesitation.
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I should clarify--I mean I wouldn't buy the house if the high-risk (Zone A) flood insurance is required.
Road Guy
Well-known member
I probably wouldn't either.
My parents are within 1 mile of the Gulf Coast (Dunedin). There is only 1 company in Florida that actually provides the Flood & Hurricane Insurance for this zone, so they basically have to bend over and pay whatever the insurance company wants to charge.
And they are like 0.8 miles from the Coast. My parents are teachers and things like doing research is not their strong point, but I am pretty sure they wish they had done the research that you are doing and they could have found a house 0.21 miles away and they would not be in the 1 mile impact area... ( I still don't really understand it, I tried to read through the language but its not my cup of tea). I would have moved a few blocks inland and not have worried with it. They are basically paying (in insurance) what someone who can see the ocean is paying..
My parents are within 1 mile of the Gulf Coast (Dunedin). There is only 1 company in Florida that actually provides the Flood & Hurricane Insurance for this zone, so they basically have to bend over and pay whatever the insurance company wants to charge.
And they are like 0.8 miles from the Coast. My parents are teachers and things like doing research is not their strong point, but I am pretty sure they wish they had done the research that you are doing and they could have found a house 0.21 miles away and they would not be in the 1 mile impact area... ( I still don't really understand it, I tried to read through the language but its not my cup of tea). I would have moved a few blocks inland and not have worried with it. They are basically paying (in insurance) what someone who can see the ocean is paying..
jeb6294
Well-known member
I didn't want to start a whole new thread and this is semi-related. Since I got my house, the Auditor's website had out market value set at $259k which is what we bought it for...makes sense. At the end of 2014 I got a letter saying they decided to reassess my house and now they've decided it's worth $280k. Doesn't do me a damn bit of good besides bump my monthly mortgage payment up about $200 because of the increased property taxes. During the divorce, the ex- said she wanted an appraisal on the house. Even though the mortgage is in my name she was fishing for some $$$...you owe me half of the equity we've built up in the house sort of thing. Didn't really work out for her though because her appraiser came back at $232k which is a little lower than what was owed.
Fast forward to yesterday. I used the appraisal to file an appeal with the Auditor's office about the value they had for my house and my hearing was yesterday. The county's appraiser objected to the appraisal saying it was too low because it was at the low end of the comps he had listed. The board said they weren't going to give me the $232k I had asked for...me making a sad face...but they were going to drop it to $242k because that was the average of the comps...happy face.
I would have been fine with them saying they'd put it back to what it was. Now I'm just waiting to see how much lower my taxes are going to be.
Fast forward to yesterday. I used the appraisal to file an appeal with the Auditor's office about the value they had for my house and my hearing was yesterday. The county's appraiser objected to the appraisal saying it was too low because it was at the low end of the comps he had listed. The board said they weren't going to give me the $232k I had asked for...me making a sad face...but they were going to drop it to $242k because that was the average of the comps...happy face.
I would have been fine with them saying they'd put it back to what it was. Now I'm just waiting to see how much lower my taxes are going to be.
Road Guy
Well-known member
well at least they met you in the middle somewhat?
I need to refinance, I am at 4.5% - I have used lending tree in the past, what other options to find lenders have you used? I see some fairly reputable ones on Zillow also?
I need to refinance, I am at 4.5% - I have used lending tree in the past, what other options to find lenders have you used? I see some fairly reputable ones on Zillow also?
Dexman PE PMP
Internationally PMP'n his PE-ness
I have a friend who is a mortgage broker at a State Bank & Trust. He's cool as hell, but the bank he works for sucks.
jeb6294
Well-known member
I was perfectly happy to get $242k. I would have been fine with them dropping it back down to the $259k it was originally.
Aside from getting my property taxes down, I just started the paperwork to refinance since I'm currently at 5%. I did a Google search for refinance rates and two sites, Zillow and Bankrate, came up with a quick easy way to get some interest rates based on some basic information. Most places ask for the info and then jump to a page asking for your contact information in order to get the rates. Thanks, but I'd rather not get a bunch of annoying calls from 18 different banks.
eRates had the best rates and had good reviews on the Bankrate site so I went with them. So far it has gone alright. I have an actual person that I can contact. He emailed me a table with a few different options and I was able to call him to discuss the differences. Looks like I'll be going from 5% down to 3.375%.
Aside from getting my property taxes down, I just started the paperwork to refinance since I'm currently at 5%. I did a Google search for refinance rates and two sites, Zillow and Bankrate, came up with a quick easy way to get some interest rates based on some basic information. Most places ask for the info and then jump to a page asking for your contact information in order to get the rates. Thanks, but I'd rather not get a bunch of annoying calls from 18 different banks.
eRates had the best rates and had good reviews on the Bankrate site so I went with them. So far it has gone alright. I have an actual person that I can contact. He emailed me a table with a few different options and I was able to call him to discuss the differences. Looks like I'll be going from 5% down to 3.375%.
Let us know how it goes.
I don't know why but getting a mortgage through online only troubles me for some reason. I know it's not founded in anything but for whatever reason I still like my brick and mortar.
I don't know why but getting a mortgage through online only troubles me for some reason. I know it's not founded in anything but for whatever reason I still like my brick and mortar.
jeb6294
Well-known member
When I first bought the house, it was through a "brick & mortar" bank...same one I had my checking account at...and I don't think I ever saw an actual person when I did it so it really doesn't seem any different aside from the fact that the rates are so much lower than what the banks have.
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