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Finally writing again!!

Got a real creative flow yesterday, at least one to me :)  I wrote two articles and posted them both here.  I hope you enjoy them. I expecially liked the fond memories of working in the rat race.

Had someone out to look at the heating system in the attic. For once it was not a major repair but just a pilot light that was out. Yee hawww!  Lately I've felt like all the extra work I've been doing is just to pay for another major repair. Guess I better shut up about it so I don't jinx it all.

I will be glad when November 7th is past and the voting is over.  I am so sick of the political advertisements on TV and all the signs posted on the roads are so thick that they don't even make me look and read anymore.  They are really self defeating at this point.  I just may vote this year for the first time in many!  There are a few women candidates that I like.

Well I better hit the sack since tomorrow is early day (exercise and walking the furkids). Nite!

Automated Underwriting, isn't it great?

Written by: Diane St James
Copyright 2006
http://www.abcmortgage.net

I look at mortgage files every day and often find myself shaking my
head at the mortgage payment I see that borrowers are about to take
on.  These are borrowers that think that as long as they are
officially 'approved'for a mortgage they can afford the payment.
This is often not the case.

As the age of automated underwriting came about in which the figures
from a borrower's loan application gets entered into a program, a
credit report is pulled and the loan decision is determined within
minutes,out went the age of common sense underwriting.

If a given loan indicates a high enough credit score or a certain
amount of equity in the property, often loans with a DTI
(debt to income) level upwards of 60% are automatically approved
by the underwriting systems in place today.

In the good old days when I would underwrite a loan that I had to
make a sound decision on, this loan would be denied because an
alarm would go off in my head that someone making $3000/month
couldn't possibly pay a mortgage payment of $1800/month and still
have money to comfortably live on.  Keep in mind that this
$3000/month figure that is used in qualifying calculations is gross
income, that is, BEFORE taxes are taken out. After taxes are taken
out the actual take home earnings could be $2250/month or less! Do
the math. That only leaves $450/month for food, utilities, and any
other bills.  Could you survive with that little left over? I know
folks whose car payments are more than $450/month!

These are the things that borrowers need to really think hard about. 

Don't get enticed by the beautiful house you just have to have, or
the smiling face of the loan officer who shakes your hand and says
"You are approved for a mortgage up to $ XXX,XXX, no problem!"

So just how much of a mortgage payment is manageable for you?
The best way to think of what would be a comfortable, affordable
payment is to go back to the old school of thinking.

Take all your monthly installment and credit card minimum payments
and get that monthly total. Then take no more than 38% of your
gross monthly income and subtract those debts from that figure.
The remaining figure is the mortgage payment you should be able
to handle without running into trouble within a few months of
getting that higher mortgage.

If after doing those calculations that doesn't leave enough of
a mortgage payment for the house you want, consider a smaller
house to start with or possibly a less expensive area which may
be away from the higher priced homes some but still affordable.

If you are in the market for a new house or your first home,
please keep this article in mind. It may make the difference
between getting a second job just to make ends meet and being
able to sleep soundly at night!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Diane St. James is a mortgage professional with over 25 years
experience. Her website http://www.abcmortgage.net exists to help
educate people about the mortgage world. She is the author of 2
e-books, and has been quoted in the WALL STREET JOURNAL,
on MSN.com, appeared on national cable new television CNBC,
and was featured on a Cover Story for USA Today newspapers.
She offers live phone advice as well as underwriting services.

I Work Full-Time at Home Yeah...Right

Permission is granted to use this article.
Must include entire byline. I ask that you notify
me of publication of my work. My email is:
[email protected]

I Work Full-Time at Home! Yeah...Right
Written by: Diane St James
Copyright 2006

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Someone recently asked me if I could do something extra online
that would involve some planning and time. I told her I could
try to squeeze it in but it would be tough because I work
full-time. She said she didn't realize I work a full-time
job outside of the home.

"I don't. I work a full-time job inside the home", I replied.
Unfortunately since we were in Instant Messenger mode, I
couldn't see the "Yeah...right" expression on her face
but I somehow felt it.

Just because I don't dress up, sit in traffic and work in
a cubicle all day doesn't mean my work shouldn't be taken
seriously. I guess I was just surprised by her comment
because I thought surely another woman would understand what
I was saying, but clearly that was not the case.

Why is it that people think if you work at home it is not
full-time or that it is not serious work? I'm not talking about
someone barely dabbling in direct sales. Now before all the
Tupperware and Avon reps get ready to hit the send button
on their flaming emails to me, please read on. I know plenty
of folks who do work in direct sales at home, do it
full-time,take it seriously,and are very successful with it.
Please know that I am not knocking that at all. That is also
full-time work at home.

What I am talking about is a person who provides a service
for corporations or companies and are expected to
complete a certain amount of work per day just as if she
were in an office or punching a virtual time clock.
You can think of me as off-site worker.

I am a contractor. In my occupation the expectations put upon
me are the same as an employee. I am just not hired as an
employee. This way companies don't have to provide any of the
employee perks, like insurance that would have paid part of
my doctors bills that time when I trudged on working and
got so sick I needed antibiotics.

Believe me, there are days that I miss the parking lot that
was always so full by the time I got there. If it had been
a football stadium, I'd be parked in the nose bleed section.
Those are the days when I would long for a shuttle service
to the entrance of the building.

Then there are times when I miss the water cooler chit chat
and the brown nosing. I especially miss the days when I
walked into the ladies room and suddenly everyone was quiet.
Now you can't see the "yeah...right" expression on my face.

But seriously. I receive a report showing the amount of work
I have to complete by the end of the day if I want to get
paid and I have to attend corporate meetings via phone
conferences. Granted I have to put my phone on mute so
nobody can hear my dogs barking but me.  I also have voice
mail that I have to check and phone calls to return.
I have to stay up to date on changes to procedures
and policies.

I am not alone either. The off-site contractor ranks are
increasing in number. Many corporations are even breaking
the traditional mode and allowing employees to work at
home either part of their work week, or all of it. Others
hire contractors like me to do the work of an employee,
just not under their noses every day.

I can only hope that with time, the more people I tell
I work full-time at home will not think"Yeah...right", but
rather "Wish it were me"!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Diane St James is a full-time work at home mom who wears
many hats and is involved in many things.
Visit her website: http://www.dianestjames.com

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'm sitting here...had to run some things that Stacey forgot for Georgettes over to her...
almost got hit by another car....(who didn't think anyone is going to be coming from that way - clearly would have been HIS fault)!
came back and saw hub didn't put out the recylcing...
but I HAD to go Potty....
while on the potty..the phone rang...let it go....
after potty listened to message from neighbor telling us they are leaving town until Sunday...
no kidding...their trailer has been sitting in their driveway loaded up for 3 days...
as I hung up from their message...the recylcing truck went by
so DIDN'T get the recyling out
and now that it is almost 9:00 my time I better do some work and get my shower in later
what a great start to my day...! 

See?...kept my word!

I said I'd write later and here I am.  I am done work for the night and it is only 9:33pm.  Sometimes it is later, believe me!  There has been a lot of extra work available the last week and a half and I hope it continues.  It just is a shame that all this extra income is subject to taxes.  But it is coming in very handy since the roof repair just completed was over $2000 !! Ouch!

Now the heat does not work on the 2nd floor.  I'm hoping it is as simple as when the repairmen replaced the blower fan that was broken this past summer that they just put out the pilot light at that time.  I'm going to call tomorrow to inquire.  They are probably not going to remember at all.  And tell me that they will have to charge to come out.  Like I said it is a good thing there is OT available.

Hub came back from a trip East back to visit a buddy and go hunting. Well, he doesn't really go hunting, he likes to see the deer up close but I don't think he could ever really hurt anything. He had a good time but was really tired and hit the sack early, poor guy.  It was a long ride but it is good to have him home. 

Tomorrow he will open the store after being closed for over a week. Hopefully we didn't miss too much business, but I am too busy with my own work to have gone and tend the store.

Didn't decorate for Halloween at all this year.  Just haven't felt like digging out the few decorations we have or buying more.  Hopefully my family doesn't mind too much.  I like dressing up for it, at least when I worked in an office I enjoyed it!  But since I work at home it is pretty pointless to do it this year.

Well off to watch a little TV and then go to bed so I can start it all over again tomorrow.

rain rain go away..

It is pouring out but the good news is the roof is all fixed (at least) it supposedly is.  This lady is not about to go up on a roof 2 stories to check and see. 

Cable guy was here Friday too. I held him ransom until it was fixed for good.  He replaced about everything he think might be old or could cause  a problem.  Even went out to the pole!  Turns out the problem was down the road at another 'station'. But he got on the horn, talked to someone else and got it fixed.  So should be good to go from now on unless the whole town goes down again for some reason. 

It is Wednesday and so far so good!   I'll write more later!   Thanks for the comments!! 

No time

I have a ton of work to do today. Praying my cable stays up all day and night!

But I had to post these pics of the furkids!! :)

Rain rain please stay away!!

Had a roofing company out Friday and I am going to call them tomorrow pressing for an estimate for a repair.  We have the probability of rain most of this week and I'd like to get us at least on the schedule for getting it done!  Whoever put the metal roof on must have gotten lazy at one point because the guy said several areas just had nails and not screws like they are suppose to have.  Great!  Well let's just get it fixed at this point!  Hope there are no major downpours until then or that bedroom ceiling is going to get wet again.

Heard about the earthquake in Hawaii. Hope my friend Sue in Maui is okay.  I don't see her online that much anymore but when I heard about the earthquake from this morning, she was the first person I thought of.  Hope everyone there is safe and that no Tsunami results from it!

Went out to Wood Stock today although no one was in.  Made an appearance at least.  My Dee's Gifts area looks pretty nice and has made some sales even yesterday. I'm so glad that I have some things there. I've sold a lot more than having the things at the other store where the lady had a lot more things than me.  

Still waiting for some money to come in but at least we were offered OT this weekend. So of course I took it!  I started doing the wrong ones though, but that's okay, I'll just be that far ahead for Monday's work- oh tomorrow's work.  This weekend went fast.

Desperate Housewives comes on in a little bit. I don't get as excited about that show as I used to.  Just lost something with, oh I don't know...too many changes.  The lapse of 6 months going by at this seasons first show was a turn off to me.  But I also watch What about Brian and they also had a 6 months later...beginning.  Copycat or coincidence? 

Different Day same thing!

Different day same thing!  I was hoping next time I wrote here I'd be in a better mood, but nope!  On top of PMSing it, I'm not sure it hasn't been Friday the 13th all week for me.  I should feel on top of the world after all I have every mother's dream. A home, a nice hub, wonderful children, furkids and I get to work at home!  But working at home should mean 'working' at home and getting paid for it. 

For some reason money is not flowing in like it should be. I have emailed the one client I have that the billing for August is way overdue and services will be delayed (from now on) until I get my payment.  Hopefully my point will be taken and I will get paid as opposed to stiffed!  I have an even bigger payment for Sept that is suppose to be coming.  At this point I have everything crossed so that I will get it.

Even my day job has been slow in paying me for one reason or another and that still doesn't help me pay the bills and put food on the table.  Not to mention still waiting for repayment of that loan from my now EX-friend. 

And on top of all this, we have a leak in our metal roof because there are water stains in one of the bedrooms upstairs.  We were hoping it was a fluke storm about a month ago that was raining sort of sideways, but Tuesday it rained and her stain got wider. :(  So now I'm waiting for the roofing company that should be coming today or tomorrow 'some time' <---maybe I just shouldn't tell folks I work at home.  They think they can just come anytime now and I'd like them to come before the next RAIN!

And since I'm on a roll of complaining, I belong to a few exchange groups where we all buy from one person each month and October is my month for folks to buy from me.  I've got about a dozen companies they can choose from so that should be no big deal. I've offered a few discounts but I'm being prompted by the group owner to have gift certificates or specials to be used at Christmas or do some other 'game'. No, I want folks to buy from me this month period. Just like I have dutifully bought from them every month this year.  I tried to explain to this gal that I work full-time and a pt job.  She said "Oh you work full-time outside the home"?  NO!! I work full-time IN the home.  Guess she just doesn't get it. I have so much mortgage work to get through in a day and it doesn't matter whether I'm sitting here at home in my office or in an office/office ...the work still has to get done.  Oh and the time I save not commuting I spend doing OT work or working any one of my dozens of businesses or this pt mortgage job I do.  Don't know why folks don't really understand working at home - even other women at home don't understand. HELLLOOOO!!!!  Anyone out there understand me?!!

Okay, enough bitching for now.  Have to get back to work. Hope tomorrow isn't any WORSE.  :(

Updated my site

I changed around my website a little bit to go into greater detail about the underwriting services I'm offering.  I sure would love to get another client or two.  I am really starting to wonder about my bill for August getting paid.  I give the guy 30 days to pay me and here it is October 5th and not only have I not received payment, but my emails asking about it go unanswered.  Yet I still review the HUD-1's that are faxed to me and now there is another file ready to submit for approval which I will be submitting tomorrow regardless because I don't want to make people wait. That's what I get for being too concientious.

And the lady that owes me money that I lent her on July 1st keeps giving me one excuse after another after another.  It is disheartening to think that folks just can't be trusted.  I keep wondering about that old saying about if you give you'll get back tenfold really does happen. But I just don't know.  Sometimes I think I just have sucker written all over my forehead!

Daughter #1 is coming home tomorrow for homecoming.  It will be nice to see her again. She hasn't been home since August 1st!  She'll get to meet our newest furkid Obi too!  It will be nice having her go to the football game with us too.

Took my mom to get her hair done today. The 3 mile trip she thought was long.  She also could not pay attention to the way we were going and I had to keep reminding her what I was doing.  She was forgetful while trying to recall a few things at the hairdressers too and was offended when she thought I was trying to correct her on something.  I really am thinking about talking to her or her and dad about getting tested for Alzheimers.  I'm sure she'll deny it, but it is a daily thing for my dad anyway.  I think they have things that can help slow the progession if nothing else.  But again, she'll probably deny it.  Could just be old age I guess - she is 79, but my dad who has survived cancer is a lot sharper than her and he is 80.  

Well no more depressive blogging.  I'm going to head to bed.