Anyway. I have been very bad about responding to emails from our realtors (I'm maybe a week overdue) because I have been conflicted, also busy, and lazy. But here's what I decided to do:
- Write back. Pass for now on the guy who will do remodeling (but not major damage repair) estimates (that would be fine after we've bought the house).
- Ask our realtors to get all the sellers' disclosures, information on the age and repair of the furnace, water heater, and roof (am I forgetting anything?), and history of utility payments. This may be tricky, as the last occupants are dead, but I want the information if it's humanly possible.
- Get my credit reports and find out whether there are any errors or things I need to dispute. Get copies of my dh's documentation from his hearing last week, at which he obtained a declaratory judgment that the other fellow with his name who got a default judgment a few years ago is in fact not him. This should definitely help his credit.
- At lunch tomorrow, call a half dozen lenders and get them to give me non-binding quotes, based on credit information I'll send them, without actually initiating a credit check. Once I find the best quote, I'll know whom to call back for my pre-approval, and thereby avoid multiple credit checks. Does this sound like it will work?
- Go through the house one more time and visit all the scary nooks and crannies. Bring our friends, the couple who remodel and flip houses, and see what they think.
- Visit one time early on a week day and do each of our commutes as a trial run.
- If all of these things work out in a way that makes both of us (especially my dh, who has more cold feet) happy, put an offer on the house, with an inspection contingency in 72-point font. We already know about what the offer would be - a definite lowball.
OK, I've saved the exciting part. So I've been meaning and meaning to pay the $29.95 for the full credit reports from all the agencies. Apparently procrastination has its rewards, because when I signed on today, it was on sale for $24.95. I was sad to see the outstanding loan amount that I have - I've been paying my student loans for three years at an aggressive rate, and it looks like I only paid $3k! But then I looked through the details, and realized it is counting $8k in loans I co-signed for my baby brother so he could graduate from college (parents completely useless). They're totally current (he's very responsible), and without me having to pay them, which is also nice. Even better, it means I've repaid over $11k of my student loans! I am stoked.
But I'm still saving the best part for last. You know how I had a 750 credit score, and I heard that 760 was the break point for the best interest rates, and I paid off an $800 student loan in full, and then my score was still 750, and I was so sad? Well, I'm not sure that that discharge had reported to all the bureaus when I found that, or what, but check this out:
AW YEAH. And I bet my unmedicated estradiol and progesterone and FSH are totally and completely screwed up and my thyroid is STILL a mess and I DON'T GIVE A DA*N.
