Rode a bit today, after getting unstuck

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by markclark57

Once and a while 115*+. Like Scott said, "you don't have to shovel sunshine." I used to pay for heat all winter (and sometimes summer too). Now I pay for A/C. Meanwhile I can still head out early on summer mornings to get to cooler elevations nearby (+/- 2 hours). Another big reason for our move was our mortgage went from over $1300.00/month to only $358.00. Smaller property, but now we can afford my retirement/extra riding time.

That's a HUGE change in housing costs. I'm checking with the AZ DOC to see what I would need to do to hire on but they're pretty picky when it comes to physical fitness and I'm old, out of shape and not in the best of health so I don't know. If I could get on out there, I'd probably move. Not sure Phoenix would be right but I think someone mentioned Kingman was a bit more temperate.

[markclark57]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

That's a HUGE change in housing costs. I'm checking with the AZ DOC to see what I would need to do to hire on but they're pretty picky when it comes to physical fitness and I'm old, out of shape and not in the best of health so I don't know. If I could get on out there, I'd probably move. Not sure Phoenix would be right but I think someone mentioned Kingman was a bit more temperate.

If you would like to "look before you leap", we have a guest room. I insisted that we spend a week in July here before deciding on the move.

BTW, one of the reasons our mortgage is so low is that we bought a smaller house that needed a lot of TLC. I've been doing similar repairs for other folks for years. This is our chance to get nice stuff for a fraction of the price. If that's what you are interested in, we will help you get it.

[Monkeyman]

I don't mind hard work (like fixing up a house) but I'm more of a helper, than doer. I don't really know what I'm doing and I get frustrated easily so either I take shortcuts (which generally lead to a less than stellar outcome) or I screw it up. I've asked before (on various forums for various vehicles) if I could pay someone to just guide me though a project. I'd do the actual work (unless it was easier with two people), all they had to do was tell me where to cut/drill, what part to remove or put back, etc. Never had any takers on those questions as most want the same pay whether they do the work or just supervise. Completely understandable.

Every time I've looked for a house of my own, I've looked from a "it's livable but needs lots of cosmetic work but I can get it cheaper" point of view. Stuff like rehanging doors, floor coverings, new sheetrock, paint, etc. I never bothered to look at houses that needed major work (electrical, plumbing, etc) as those are things I'd HAVE to farm out. My credit sucks so bad, I can't get a mortgage anyway. I'm working on it, but it's a LOOOOONG road.

If I find out that I can get on with the AZ DOC, I'll see about a trip out there. Thanks for the offer.

[markclark57]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

I don't mind hard work (like fixing up a house) but I'm more of a helper, than doer. I don't really know what I'm doing and I get frustrated easily so either I take shortcuts (which generally lead to a less than stellar outcome) or I screw it up. I've asked before (on various forums for various vehicles) if I could pay someone to just guide me though a project. I'd do the actual work (unless it was easier with two people), all they had to do was tell me where to cut/drill, what part to remove or put back, etc. Never had any takers on those questions as most want the same pay whether they do the work or just supervise. Completely understandable.

Every time I've looked for a house of my own, I've looked from a "it's livable but needs lots of cosmetic work but I can get it cheaper" point of view. Stuff like rehanging doors, floor coverings, new sheetrock, paint, etc. I never bothered to look at houses that needed major work (electrical, plumbing, etc) as those are things I'd HAVE to farm out. My credit sucks so bad, I can't get a mortgage anyway. I'm working on it, but it's a LOOOOONG road.

If I find out that I can get on with the AZ DOC, I'll see about a trip out there. Thanks for the offer.

Remodel consults (i.e. show you what/how to do stuff) is one of the things I do. I've got qualified, yet affordable Pro's for the stuff I can't handle.

We only financed 44K of our new house. It doesn't take a lot of credit to get that much. You won't know till you try. Make sure it's what you want before you pull the trigger.

[Monkeyman]

620 is generally the FICO dividing line between "we'll give you a loan with a shitty interest rate" and "go away". My FICO score is a bit under that (although significantly better than it was 5 years ago). You might be surprised how difficult it is to raise your score by even 20 or 30 points. It's taken me 5 years of paying off almost everything I owe (minus one old student loan that will probably never be paid off) just to get off the bottom (who knew your score could be as low as 400???). The biggest thing holding me back right now is lack of current credit. My score is too low to get a credit card so I can't prove I can handle money. Doesn't matter that all of my bills are paid (rent, utilities, truck payment, etc) and stay that way or that I have a few assets (like my bike). As far as I'm concerned, the secured credit cards are a scam. You give them $80-$100/year (plus a hefty deposit) and they'll "let" you use YOUR money. Most of them don't even report to the credit bureaus and even when they do, FICO doesn't really care as it's not "credit" in their eyes since you're just using your money.

I've rambled on enough. I'll email you, Mark.