Happy Watching! I'm buying the whole series for myself as a Christmas gift.

Maybe he has an heirloom ring that has been in his family for generations.  Maybe he just really wants to get something you that is a personal expression of his and his alone.  If he's buying it, don't look a gift horse in the mouth!  It's not about the ring, it's about the marriage...and marriage is gonna be all about compromise.  Congratulations on the engagement!

PS--I had to buy our rings and he got to choose what he wanted and so did I.

I live in a small town and in our local paper there are always public listings of properties that are going to be sold on the courthouse steps in an auction because of foreclosures or failure to pay taxes, etc.  I'm kind of interested in learning about this process because a cute older home I've had my eye on for a while is going to be sold this way in a couple of weeks and I am in a position to maybe buy it because I FINALLY settled with my insurance company over my house fire.  So I have a nice little chunk of money (not a huge amount, but enough to buy a decent home for me and my kids).  My ex-husband severely damaged my credit and so this may be the only way I can buy another house, besides I'd rather not use the money as a down payment on a big, huge fancy house I'll probably struggle to make payments on.  I'd rather just buy a nice little three bedroom that is comfortable and affordable and allows me a little wiggle room with my finances.  I'm living with family now and don't even get me started on how stressful that is! 

So I was wondering if any my virtual colleagues and friends here at MTStars had any experience or knowledge of how this whole foreclosure/tax auction process works?  Will there be an auctioneer and I will have to bid like at a regular auction?  And usually how much do houses go for when sold this way?  Do they go for the amount of taxes owed or how much the house is worth?  The public notice from the county says the buyer has to put 10% down and pay the remaining balance in 30 days.  So I'm trying to get an idea of whether I will have enough to pay cash the day of or if I will still need to get a small mortgage loan.

Any suggestions?  I'm really dumb when it comes to stuff like this.  I've never really had a head for business, but since leaving my ex, I've vowed to learn and be savvy and take control of my finances.  And this would be a big first step towards that.

Thanks!

Ok, here's my story....I've been an IC for 3-1/2 years and an MT for 6. My husband and I are moving to another state and buying a house. The mortgage company wants me to get a letter from the company that I have a contract with stating that I can continue to receive work from them even after I move. My question is, is this normal to request this?? It seems really unprofessional of me to even ask them to write this letter as I'm NOT an employee of this company. The mortgage guy we're dealing with seems very young and doesn't seem to have experience with self-employed people, so I'm wondering if I really need to get this letter or if we should just use a differnet mortgage company? I would really appreciate it if anyone has been in a similar position could let me know if you needed to get this letter as well. FYI: We have excellent credit and have both been gainfully employed since we were teenagers. Thank you!

I wondered that too if all the houses gone up that much.  I know they did some remodeling since they bought it 5 years ago but we have done some remodeling in this house too (same kind of remodeling)  but I won't dare think it would sell for 66% above what we originally paided for it. 

Than again, I would have to get an expert to come through here and tell me what they think it might sell for.  I have not a clue. 

My gut feeling  tells me that they need to come down.  I saw the new house they were moving too.  It is a huge, two story, maybe $300K home.   DH and I think they have jacked up the price on this other home in order to help pay for the one they are in now.

 Then other things would have to factor in like property taxes, cost of utilities which I know all that would be more than what we are paying now for this little house we are in now. "sigh"  Oh well, maybe one day we will have something bigger. 

We are going to look at a house we are both interested in in about an hour.  I made up a list of questions.  First off, I think the seller wants too much and have already told them so, they want 125k.  They said they will consider coming down though I don't know how much.   It is a 3 bedroom 2 bath brick home about 1600 sq ft.  I don't think it is worth more than 80k and that is being generous, IMO but I am no expert.  It is a nice house but not flawless.  The outside gutters are coming off I know for sure.  Dh had been in and he said some of the carpet is comming up.  There are old trailer houses all in that block.   The house directly behind us is an old abandoned house with sheep in the backyard.  The neighbors beside us have chickens. 

Anyway, the questions I came up with is: Aprasial value, property taxes, age of the house.  Also I have been wanting to some how ask about Dh farm equipment.  He has had it parked out here and the neighbors have yet to complain the whole 8 years we have lived here.  However, some of my relatives across town have old cars parked in their driveway and they get complaints.  My bestfriend's mother lives 2 blocks away from this home and she says there is not a crime problem.  Howvever, sometimes kids drive up and down the street too fast so I would have to keep a close eye on my two little ones.  We would still be in the same school district so that is not a question. 

Anyone have any more tips to look for.  Is it too nosey to ask what the utility expenses are?  I thought about calling WTU but I don't know if they would tell me or not. 15 years ago they would because I asked about an appartment complex I was interested in living in.  However, back then they had a local office I could call, not anymore.    TIA.