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In the light of recent events of buying a home, I was thinking about taking some money out of my Roth IRA to pay down some of the closing costs. I was reading on the web and there are a few simple rules to avoiding the 10% penalty for early withdrawal and taxes. Technically, you must meet two of the requirements to receive a qualified distribution. The law now allows individuals to receive distributions from their traditional IRAs to pay up to $10,000 of first time homebuyer expenses without incurring the 10% early withdrawal penalty that usually applies to withdrawals from traditional IRA before 59 1/2. But… Read on »

So we finally put a bid on the house and it was a verbal bid. The real estate agent didn’t even bat an eyelash at the bid. The sellers dont seem to be too keen on taking a bid that is below their asking price. Currently, the property has been on the market about 95 days now. Read on »

We are finally ready to put a bid in on the house. We received some information from the selling agent that someone is taking a third look at the house and really can’t determine which house to choose. So, maybe we have some competition for the place. Here are a few things to think about prior to making a bid on the house. Read on »

If you guys and gals have a mac and you have HD at home, you are in LUCK! I was reading on the internet and there was a fantastic DIY on how to record HD content straight from your cable box! No more TiVo necessary when you do this and you can play it back on your Mac or stream to your XBOX360 for FREE! If you are interested read on! Read on »

Just when you thought that buying your first house was easy, it becomes a monster. There is a laundry list of items you should have ready just in case you want to put a bid in on the house. There are so many houses out there and time is the major sacrifice. For a couple of summers here in Maryland and now this winter, I have seen about a total of 9 houses. From condos to townhouses to renovations, the prices still did not differ all that much. But it remains clear that prices have dropped. On my third trek out to see houses today, these are a few items I have ready this time around. Read on »

Today was the day to actually visit the condo. It was nice compared to some of the homes I have seen in the city, two summers ago. There were many things I learned from a fantastic realtor. Here are some of the things I learned in a few conversations with the people selling the condo and the realtor. Read on »

I am getting back into looking for a place to live and I am learning a lot about Condos. It seems that a Condo is basically like an apartment that you own. There are condo fees that you pay that may cover some maintenance. Another interesting thing about condos is that, they don’t necessarily need homeowner’s insurance. Obviously, the most important thing is to make sure what the condominium is covering, but I’m 100% sure that they don’t cover your belongings. I will be navigating my way to hopefully, purchasing a condo in Maryland and I will document everything that I do. In these preliminary posts, I will be posting about the research I am doing and what is involved in buying a house/condo from a private seller. First things first, I am going to take a look at the property this weekend and will post pictures once I get back. Wish me luck.

Sometimes you come across some pretty interesting things on the web and sometimes not so cool. This time I have finally found something worth adding to my long list of bookmarks to, WeatherBonk.com. This site basically uses the weather report and places it on top of Google maps. Brilliant! Now why don’t they have this for golf? But they do! GolfBonk.com. Peruse these sites and let me know what you think.

I bought a television a few days ago and found out that on Monday they ran a new deal that they were giving out a free $100 gift card if you spent over a certain amount of money. Well when I read this, I was a little ticked off and went to the store to get in on the deal. And there was no way I was going to bring the monster back and forth. So I asked for a price match. Most stores will allow you to get in on a deal that you missed out on by simply just asking. But there are ways to mess this up if not done correctly. Read on »

This argument has been argued the world over and the answer the best anyone can come up with is, it depends. This may be true, but most people pay for it because it is peace of mind. Look at what happened back in the day when CRT televisions were being sold at a premium and they didn’t really offer extended warranty plans and we still bought the television. Same goes for today. Here are a couple reasons why they aren’t worth it - for me.

I just recently bought a new television and during the checkout the service guy kept pushing me to buy the service plan. He said, ” We will replace your bulb if it breaks in the first 4 years or if ANYTHING goes wrong we replace the TV.” I countered with, “I already have a television that had an issue and all they did was call some electrician to come out and fix the issue. They never replaced it.” Then he goes on with a long list of buts. This is the first time I have ever been pushed to buy a service plan. To me, it wasnt worth it, the buld costs $125 on eBay and it is really simple to replace. I was happy that I made the purchase, but dealing with the store clerk was a pain in the ass. Read on »