Friday thread
Started by PsyDr
I know this is Friday thread and not house advice thread, but curious if homeowners here all put 20% down on their home when buying? Looking at a place today/this weekend!
Just consulted my wife who is a real estate agent. She said that most people DON'T put down 20%. A lot depends on the financing. 20% will allow you to avoid PMI, so that's and advantage.
In a serious funk this week, and needed to read this.
Also, if you don’t want to prank your own: another opportunity to be each other’s alibi. I have an annotated list of uptight colleagues that could do with a good pranking. I would immediately be the suspect. And be fired.
Friday Thread: Cheap Whiskey Edition-
Picked up a bottle of Evan Williams Black Label for $15. Quite drinkable in a Manhattan (though good Vermouth makes a difference), as well as by itself (on the rocks with a dash of Angostura).
Also picked up a six pack of Shed Brewery (VT) Mountain Ale. It's a very tasty English Strong Ale (7.4% ABV), Not too cheap, but also not one of these ridiculous $17 4-packs that seem to be the new thing.
Cheers!
Picked up a bottle of Evan Williams Black Label for $15. Quite drinkable in a Manhattan (though good Vermouth makes a difference), as well as by itself (on the rocks with a dash of Angostura).
Also picked up a six pack of Shed Brewery (VT) Mountain Ale. It's a very tasty English Strong Ale (7.4% ABV), Not too cheap, but also not one of these ridiculous $17 4-packs that seem to be the new thing.
Cheers!
Between the grubs, skunks, crab grass, cicada killers (look 'em up), and drought, I've given up. It's green, but that's about it.
We didn't. We bought in 2017 and put like 10% down. Although we had the cash for 20%, I was on my postdoc and wanted a sizeable reserve to start a private practice, should it come to that.
We did end up paying mortgage insurance to the tune of about $150 per month.
We just refinanced and PMI went away.
I put 20% down on my primary residence.
Remember that real estate is an investment, you can always negotiate with underwriters, and that home inspectors don’t look at hvac or foundations.
and demand to look at the HOA’s Or condo association’s financial report. If they don’t produce it, or you see it doesn’t have enough capital... run. Don’t negotiate. Just start laughing, stand up, continue laughing while shaking your head, and walk out while laughing.
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You will generally get the best rates with 20%+ down. Saves you money in the long run. And, given that home prices are definitely on the high end, a higher down payment can protect you somewhat from a price downturn and being underwater on that mortgage. I, personally, would not buy without a 20% down payment.
Also, to build on what @PsyDr said, get your own home inspector, DO NOT use the one that your real estate agent employs/contracts. I know more than a handful of people who had pricey repairs after buying because the agent's inspector did only a superficial lookover.
Sanman
O.G.
I put 10% down on my house. I had my mortgage lender run the numbers with PMI and without and the difference in monthly was minimal for me. Since I was purchasing a foreclosure, I opted to keep the cash and put it into capital improvements. I had planned to refinance since I have significantly more equity in the home now due to capital improvements and payments, but I may be moving soon anyway.
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psychlife19
Full Member
We're taking the halfling out trick or treating this weekend at a socially distanced neighborhood event. Masks are required for attendance so I wager they'll be a lot Darth Vader and Spider-Man this weekend. Best costume ideas I've seen so far are variants of vaccine-trial-gone-wrong zombies and Amy Zombie Barrett.
Instead of brains, does Amy Zombie Barrett eat the civil rights of unsuspecting citizens? 😉
Have a safe and happy Halloween, SDN! 
We're switching our EMR and billing platform next week and wanted to avoid any outstanding claims across platforms, so spent last few weeks wrapping up reports with no new testing scheduled. For first time maybe since undergrad I don't have some type of report due! Celebrating with a few Boulevardiers, 'cause I'm fancy that way. Tomorrow will be building some kind of socially distant candy delivery chute, as well as baking and cooking (im thinking fresh biscuits and pot roast)
Eww, drinks with Campari.
They taste like pencils. Sweet, delicious pencils, but pencils nonetheless.
More like a Boulevardier.....of Broken Dreams
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I adopted a kitten this weekend! He is a nice distraction from the mound of paperwork I need to do. Hey, I don’t think I told SDN...I left my group practice and now am doing the solo pp thing. I’m quite glad I made the move and wish I would have done it sooner!
I'm in the process of going the same thing. Glad to hear it's going well!
Got a bottle of Michter's bourbon to try on a whim. Not bad. Spent last night watching bad Netflix horror movies and letting kiddos grab candy bags we'd left on the porch.
Also, I may be making more of a venture into some of the solo PP world myself. Must be something in the air. Still not full-time or close to it as of yet, though.
Also, I may be making more of a venture into some of the solo PP world myself. Must be something in the air. Still not full-time or close to it as of yet, though.
Wait until you ding dongs figure out that you get unlimited vacation days in PP.
That you pay for. Every day off is revenue lost. Plus, if you go somewhere, you have to pay for travel costs. You literally pay twice to take a vacation when in pp. but, hey, may still be better than having a boss heckle you.
Meh, if you make more, it more than pays for itself, particularly if you have a portion dedicated to IME, which pays 4-10X most clinical hourly rates. If you already have more money than you need, after fully maxing our retirement accounts and such, might as well enjoy yourself and spend time with friends and family.
Or..... you could say that lost revenue/foregone wages/opportunity cost are NOT the same thing as paying for something. So you only pay once. And then you could say that using tax advantaged corporate moves,you can write off some of your vacation. Which would mean that it’s actually cheaper than paying for a vacation once.
And then you could say that using the same business tools, you are able to create wealth at a much more rapid pace, which would mean that every day you’re not using them, you have an opportunity cost.
Definitely a reason that conferences/CE opportunities are held in desirable cities in desirable months. Except INS, which chooses Boston in early February all the time for some stupid reason.
The cape cod institute existed solely for this reason. The mildly intelligent rented and took the summer off. The ballers bought a house under an flp, rented it to themselves, and write off both.
Definitely looking forward to expanding my advantage of our arcane tax code to my benefit, legally.
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Only idiots try to do illegal tax stuff. There’s literally no point. Fortune 100 companies can legally pay zero dollars in taxes. Why cheat?
Definitely, more of a comment on when people hear the kinds of things that we can deduct, they think it's illegal. A la using your kids as child models.
Child models isn't a true deduction....it's a way to put money into the IRA of an infant, thereby allowing for an additional 20 years of compounding.
There's a ton of ways to play the game. All you have to do is have a minimum of 2 LLCs, and then ask yourself "is this an appreciating asset?", "is this deductible?", "is there any reasonable way to make this some form of business expense?". Buy expensive stuff that appreciates in the LLC, use the depreciation calculations, then sell it to you the person at the end of the depreciation cycle. If you have a preferred vacation spot, look into maybe creating an LLC there, and buying some "business lodging".
I'm not even good at this stuff and it's amazing to me how much people don't know.
I'm amazed daily by the amount of stuff I don't know.
True, but also a way to reduce your taxable income, while setting aside something for the rugrats.
It's not Friday, but it's E L E C T I O N D A Y 2 0 2 0 ! !
All eligible U.S. Voters, exercise your civic duty and get out to vote (if you haven't already). 😎
All eligible U.S. Voters, exercise your civic duty and get out to vote (if you haven't already). 😎
Voted this morning, taking today and tomorrow off
Voted by mail a couple weeks ago. Wish I'd thought ahead enough to take a little time off.
Time off seems healthier than my whiskey-all-day approach to coping.
Whiskey and/or cocktails can go hand in hand with the couple of days off...
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this is why I still require mentorship in my work
I slept in til 7 after going to bed at about 1:30. Taking the day off work anyway.
Today just happens to be my day off, which I'm pretty grateful for right now. I periodically checked NYT last night while watching a movie with the spouse. Going on a run this morning where I'll listen to my book and do a little volunteer work later in the day just for the sake of distraction.
Sanman
O.G.
Prediction: Come January 2021, An old white guy will be president!
Coffee - sounds like a stimulant may be in order instead.
Finished with patients for the day so now I'm anxiously refreshing 538 and election twitter.
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