Appraisal

Well... all of my cleaning must have paid off. (Okay... so it probably wasn't the cleaning...) The appraisal came back high enough that we will be able to pretty much wrap all of our credit cards and personal loans up into our mortgage. And... the best part is we will save at least $500 per month in payments!!

The last appraisal we had was in December and between that appraisal and this one the price jumped $45,000. Am I the only one that thinks that is quite an increase? So, for anyone else who is thinking about refinancing... here are a few things we wish we would have known the first time around...

1) DO NOT re-finance within the first year of owning your home if you want to get a new appraisal. Within the first 12 months they have to base the appraisal on what you bought it for plus improvements so if you bought it for under market value and are hoping to increase the price and get rid of PMI or pay off some debts, wait.

2) Cashing out your mortgage (i.e. getting cash back) usually gives you a higher interest rate than just a regular refinance. Make sure you factor that into your decision.

3) Dress provocatively when meeting with loan officers (opposite sex) and appraisers (also opposite sex)

4) Leave some extra $100 lying around the house when the appraiser is walking through. Look casually at the money and say... "Hmm I wonder if that will increase the value of our house... excuse me... I must go check on something in the other room."

5) Don't be afraid to throw yourself on the floor kicking and screaming if things aren't going your way. This is especially useful if you are meeting with the loan officer in the bank. Don't try this while on the phone, it looses it's effectiveness if the other party is unable to actually SEE you.