Homeownership & Lifestyle

I enjoy receiving email like this from my readers:

I currently own a condo as my primary residence and am getting married soon.  The mortgage and title is in my name only.  We will soon like to look at moving to a bigger place and would apply for a mortgage on our new primary residence together while still keeping the condo to rent out.  How will this situation affect getting approved for the new loan?  Are there any changes that will need to be made to my current condo mortgage since it will no longer be my primary residence?  Thanks in advance for your help!

Unless you’re planning on refinancing your existing condo, there shouldn’t be any changes that you need to make that mortgage because you are renting it out.  If you are currently refinancing or planning to refinance the condo, you should let your mortgage originator know of your intentions to use the property as an investment property.  On a side note, you may also want to check with your Home Owners Association or condominium bylaws to make sure that investment properties are allowed.

Qualifying for the new home will be impacted by the type of financing you select and the amount of home equity you have currently in the condo.  If you have less than 30% home equity, you’ll need 6 months reserves for all of your mortgages (your current residence/future rental and the new home) if you’re considering conventional financing or you must qualify with both mortgage payments.  FHA does not have this guideline at this time.

In addition, if you do not have a documented current two year history as a landlord, you may find that the entire mortgage payment (including the home owners association fees) may be factored into your debt with no credit for any rental income you receive on the new home.

Lenders are looking for extra reserves and making sure that people who are leaving their current homes have enough “skin in the game” (equity) so that they’re less likely to walk away from their former residence once they’ve closed on their new home.

By the way, if the home you’re buying with your future bride is located in Washington state, I’m happy to help you with your mortgage!

I recently switched from a Blackberry Storm to a Droid X. It’s a bit of an adjustment and so far I’m very pleased with my new phone…I am actually writing this post from the Droid X’s extra large keypad using Typepad’s mobile application.

I thought I would share a few notes and favorite apps with you now that I’ve had this phone for a couple weeks.   Many folks ask me “why not an iPhone?”  Verizon doesn’t have one yet and I wanted my new phone yesterday (actually a few weeks ago).  Honestly I’m not sure that I would like an iPhone any better than my Droid-X.  Here’s a comparison by between these two popular smart phones by PC World–the operating system for Droid X has recently been upgraded to 2.2 Froyo (don’t ask me what that means–I guess it’s suppose to be better).

Please keep in mind that I am NOT an expert with the Droid, Google or the thousands of applications.  Some of the applications deserve a post of there own!

Droid is short for “Android” and is Google’s answer to the smart phone arena.  My phone is a Droid-X.  Some of the features that drew me to this model was the larger screen (so it’s easier for me to use the keyboard) and that it can act as a wireless mobile hotspot.  The Droid X has seven screens for you to organize your favorite applications.  Another feature I like about my Droid is that it does not have be teathered to my computer for updates or back ups.

If you’re considering a Droid, I suggest you start with a visit http://www.google.com/mobile/android where they have videos of some of the basic apps, like your contacts and fun extra’s like Google Goggles.

If you have Gmail or use Google docs, such as the calendar (which instantly syncs with your Droid), you’re one step ahead of new Driod users like me!  I’ve been kind of behind using Google apps before my Driod–that’s changing rapidly and I’m loving convenience!  You don’t have to use Gmail, I was able to set up my default email accounts quite easily.

Between importing my Facebook and Gmail contacts, my phone’s database is pretty set.  Originally I also uploaded my Twitter friends, but with following over 2000, it was a bit cumbersome. I personally decided to not use Twitter–it may work just fine for you. I keep my Twitter friends handy on my Droid by using Hootsuite’s free version.  (If someone out there is using the upgrade, please let me know if the few extra bucks is worth it).

Speaking of apps… oh my gosh!!  Here’s a quick list of what I’ve downloaded so far:

You will probably want to check into Advanced Task Killer (Free).   Your Droid will run more programs than needed and the Task Killer will keep your Droid in line and free up memory when unneccessary programs are running.

I am using GoogleVoice for my voice mail.  This is a great ap that transcribes your voicemail so that you can read it — great for if you’re in a meeting and cannot take a phone call.

Voice Actions for Andriod (requires 2.2 or higher) allows me to verbally give my Driod commands, from sending a text or email to searching for a favorite song on Pandora.

Dropbox is great for sharing between your computer and Droid and you can even share with friends.  Of course I have Facebook, Hootsuite (for Twitter) and Yelp.   Adobe Photoshop Express if fun, if you’re into photography, with your 8meg built-in camera.   NOTE:  I (okay, my son) took this photo in Spokane, used photo-editing applications that came with my phone.  I used Dropbox to instantly upload it to my computer.

For real estate, check out Zillow’s ap and The Talon Group has a mobile ready site at www.talonnw.com/togo where you can keep track of your transactions.

I like Epicurious, a free ap which allows me to check out recipes while I’m at the grocery store and Kindle is great if I want to purchase a book to read.  My guilty pleasure, for when I’m waiting in the car at the West Seattle True Value Hardware parking lot while hubby’s shopping is: Finger Bowling.

I’m still learning about my new phone–do you have a Droid?  What are your favorite applications and features?  I admit–I still have a lot to learn about this phone and I’m having fun doing so!

My husband jokes that he tries to stay out of “Google” where I am the opposite.  I hope folks who are need a mortgage for their home in Washington State can find me by searching various topics or my name on the internet.  However, I don’t like website where they compile and provide a significant amount of personal information just by entering in your name.

My sister recently made me aware of www.spokeo.com.   Yes, I’m all over Facebook, I tweet and I yelp… sometimes I even flicker or blip; but it’s my choice.   Believe it or not, I do like to have some level of privacy (or at least the illusion of it) while we still can.

“Spokeo aggregates publicly available information from phone books, social networks, marketing surveys, real estate listings, business websites, and other public sources. Spokeo does not originate data or publish user-generated content like Facebook or MySpace. Rather, Spokeo indexes third-party data in ways similar to Google or Bing.”

I encourage you to visit Spokeo and find your listing.  All you have to do is enter your name.  Review the information that they have posted on you and if you’re okay with that data–that’s totally cool.   However, if you would like to have your profile (or listing) removed, you can do so by clicking the privacy link in the bottom right corner of the website.  It’s pretty easy to do.

Ironically Spokeo says they “care about data privacy” and have partnered with a company that claims to protects your privacy and they offer you a chance to buy that service after you see what they have about you on their website.  I opted NOT to purchase this service.