Refinancing...

When we purchased our home, the mortgage that we locked into had a rate of 4.375%, a conventional loan lasting 30 years.  Since we did not put down 20%, the dreaded PMI was tacked on.  Our mortgage broker told us that in two years we can get rid of it.  What a fat lie. Private mortgage insurance is an insurance that the bank takes out against you because you failed to put down 20% of the purchase price as a down payment.  If...

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Abatement Contractors and Lead Testing

August 2014... After my son's blood lead level began to rise again, our parlor was sealed for the next few months.  I asked for word of mouth references and searched online for another.  Altogether, I sourced four different painting contractors. For each one, my wife and I discussed what we were looking for.  We explained that we were not sure exactly where the lead-based paint was.  We wanted all wood trim stripped...

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Parlor Renovation, Part IV - Paint Stripping

March, 2014... The parlor is coming along.  It is a mess right now, but still, I can picture the final look in my head.  My wife, though she tries, is more annoyed with the time it has taken to get to this point. I keep bouncing between different aspects of the room.  Plaster repair, wallpaper removal and paint stripping have been tackled at the same time.  For this post, I'd like to focus on the paint removal from our...

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Parlor Renovation, Part III - Water Leak Repaired

November, 2013... The hole in the wall had become larger due to my eagerness (see Part I).  I had contracted with Sunderland Period Homes to repair the south facing parlor window.  As promised in Part I, the following are the procedures that were taken to repair the window frame: Sunderland Period Homes The crew of two started with the removal of the siding. Each board was removed, numbered and stacked in the front yard. The...

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