Finally Closed

Finally closed on my refinance early this evening. It’s good to finally have that out of the way, pay a lower monthly payment, and pay less interest to a bank overall. Banks have gotten much more careful with mortgages since the financial crisis, as I had to provide quite a bit more documentation than I did for my original mortgage. With that out of the way, I can focus on more pressing difficulties with the house, like this:

One Good Reason to Rent

What neither my contractor nor I can believe was that it was only during Hurricane Irene that we noticed water coming through the ceiling. I had to wait until I found a job before I could think about getting someone out again, and we never again saw water. A few weeks before our contractor started, I noticed the drywall drooping down a bit in a spot. I used the very sophisticated technique of poking the drywall with my finger, which went clean through with no real resistance. A bit of poking around up there I felt moisture immediately. The insulation has been soaking up water and slowly rotting the drywall. The real miracle is that it didn’t come clean down.

The good news is that the joists don’t look like they took it too badly, so some new sheets of plywood, and at most a bit of sistering with a 2×4 to have a hardy surface for fasters, and I think we’ll be back in business. The good news is I’ve bottled my wine:

Medicine For The Soul

Because after what my house is doing to me, I’m going to need it.