So much for making quick fixes on the house. The bank tried to run the loan two ways, as a complete refinance or a home equity loan. Both required enough of an inspection that when the inspector came out, they deemed the place not worth any more than I currently own on it, and lending me another $30K would put me more seriously underwater and them at risk. Can't much blame them. Five years ago, no one was silly enough to buy this joint except for me, and on the $80K loan, I still ow$75K. And that was in the days when you could get a loan for 100%. Property values have fallen so mine probably did too. I'm still delusional enough to think that as the baby boomers, the ones that have a little money and retire might want to move to the mountains to beat the heat, and my place will prove to be a decent investment in the long run. Just would rather be paying 4% than 6%.
So while not upset, I need to start re-thinking what to do and prioritize. That means what can I do to make it warmer without spending hardly any money at this point. In a week and a half, I'll have almost two weeks of Xmas vacation to tighten up the house to keep it warmer, and start digging dirt out of the crawlspace. Most of the cold is coming right through the floor I'm convinced. I have a lot of insulation that I bought a couple of years ago specifically for that project.
I could pre-write my assignment if I were a student these days. "Now class, what did you do on your vacation." I could turn it in six months early. I know what I'll be doing on my vacations for the next couple of years. Working on the house, and doing a few handyman jobs on the side to support my habit (of buying used stuff at the RESTORE).
