From Suzy
"This morning while reading books, I kept reminding Faith not to suck her thumb. She remembered quite well and kept saying , "Please? Please I suck my thumb, mommmy?" Finally, she said she wanted to get behind my back. I looked at her, and she said, "Don't look at me, mommy, look at book" and turned my head with her hands. Does she really think she's sneaky??
Haha Faith just climbed behind my back here at the computer, and I said, "Faith, you can't suck your thumb back there" to which Kate added, "She looks pretty buspicious..." hee hee!"
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Katism
Kate was really excited to show me something out on the front porch. We went out there, and she gushed about 2 grasshoppers ("Dad, you've gotta see dis")!
My first thought was that it would be odd for the grasshoppers to still be there. I looked at them and asked her if they were dead.
"Oh no daddy, they're not dead. They just don't move very much. One of them just looks like the skin part"
My first thought was that it would be odd for the grasshoppers to still be there. I looked at them and asked her if they were dead.
"Oh no daddy, they're not dead. They just don't move very much. One of them just looks like the skin part"
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Difference between a short sale and bank owned home.
This is from an email I sent to a friend of the family. I get these questions a lot, some of you may know all this stuff already:
Short Sales:
1) They usually take a long time
2) You can get a good deal.
Description: A Short Sale is where the bank has agreed with the seller to take less than is owed on the loan. If an appraisal or BPO (Broker Price Opinion) has been done, the listing price is usually close to what the bank will accept. In my experience, the agents are very upfront with what price the bank is looking for. I just had one recently, it was listed at 410k, I called the agent, and he let me know the bank would accept 390k based on the recent BPO.
I’ve sold a couple of short sales, and I also do the same thing. After the appraisal is done, the bank wants somewhere close to 85% of the appraised value. Multiply the BPO by about .85, then add the “Appraised Price * .08” (for closing costs for the seller, including the real estate fees) and that’s the bottom line price.
Example:
BPO or Appraisal = $100,000.
Net the bank wants = $100,000*.85 = $85,000
Seller closing costs = $100,000*.08 = $8,000
Lowest price you can offer and have it be accepted = $85,000+8000 = $93,000.
I usually ask the agent what it appraised for, and also what the bottom line price is. If he tells me what it appraises for, I can usually come close to the bottom line price as well.
It will often take about 4-6 months if the appraisal isn’t done. Some banks will wait until the first offer is submitted before starting the appraisal etc. Some will do an appraisal up front.
The MLS (Multiple Listing Service – where agents list homes) has various “status” types.
Active = home is for sale.
Pending = home is under contract.
Sold = home already sold.
You usually don’t have access to the pending/sold homes in the MLS searches available on the most websites. Other status types are:
Contingent Short Sale and Contingent Other = The contingent short sale status in Boise means that the home has an offer (or more) on it but is waiting for the bank’s final acceptance. That should mean other people can still submit offers.
That’s one of the draw backs of a short sale (until the bank finally accepts the offer, which can take months, other people can offer as well). Once the status is contingent though, the chances of other offers coming in are much reduced.
Bank owned properties have already been through the foreclosure process and are now owned by the bank directly. They are also known as REO (Real Estate Owned). They’re usually priced at the very bottom of the market (or below market).
Bank owned property transactions generally go very smoothly. Its very similar to working with a homeowner. There is usually extra paperwork (if its Government owned, then LOTS of extra paperwork). However, they’re easy to deal with, usually a great price and closing times are very similar to a non-short sale owned home.
Short Sales:
1) They usually take a long time
2) You can get a good deal.
Description: A Short Sale is where the bank has agreed with the seller to take less than is owed on the loan. If an appraisal or BPO (Broker Price Opinion) has been done, the listing price is usually close to what the bank will accept. In my experience, the agents are very upfront with what price the bank is looking for. I just had one recently, it was listed at 410k, I called the agent, and he let me know the bank would accept 390k based on the recent BPO.
I’ve sold a couple of short sales, and I also do the same thing. After the appraisal is done, the bank wants somewhere close to 85% of the appraised value. Multiply the BPO by about .85, then add the “Appraised Price * .08” (for closing costs for the seller, including the real estate fees) and that’s the bottom line price.
Example:
BPO or Appraisal = $100,000.
Net the bank wants = $100,000*.85 = $85,000
Seller closing costs = $100,000*.08 = $8,000
Lowest price you can offer and have it be accepted = $85,000+8000 = $93,000.
I usually ask the agent what it appraised for, and also what the bottom line price is. If he tells me what it appraises for, I can usually come close to the bottom line price as well.
It will often take about 4-6 months if the appraisal isn’t done. Some banks will wait until the first offer is submitted before starting the appraisal etc. Some will do an appraisal up front.
The MLS (Multiple Listing Service – where agents list homes) has various “status” types.
Active = home is for sale.
Pending = home is under contract.
Sold = home already sold.
You usually don’t have access to the pending/sold homes in the MLS searches available on the most websites. Other status types are:
Contingent Short Sale and Contingent Other = The contingent short sale status in Boise means that the home has an offer (or more) on it but is waiting for the bank’s final acceptance. That should mean other people can still submit offers.
That’s one of the draw backs of a short sale (until the bank finally accepts the offer, which can take months, other people can offer as well). Once the status is contingent though, the chances of other offers coming in are much reduced.
Bank owned properties have already been through the foreclosure process and are now owned by the bank directly. They are also known as REO (Real Estate Owned). They’re usually priced at the very bottom of the market (or below market).
Bank owned property transactions generally go very smoothly. Its very similar to working with a homeowner. There is usually extra paperwork (if its Government owned, then LOTS of extra paperwork). However, they’re easy to deal with, usually a great price and closing times are very similar to a non-short sale owned home.
Another Katism
"Mommy, I only like blond boys the best. But I still like Daddy, gray haired ones are okay too". I think I need to get her checked for color blindness.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Father's Day
I had a wonderful father's day. My kids got me the above tie.
The last few weeks, I've been wearing sweater vests. After I put on the tie, Kate said, Daddy, don't wear that gray thing okay (gray = the color of my sweater vest). Of course I told her I wouldn't.
At church, an interesting phenomen insued. People were very happy to see me all over the place! After the first few times people got these big smiles when they saw me, and then proceeded to say "nice tie", I realized that they weren't really that excited to see me. But it sure was an ego boost for those first few seconds.
I have the best family ever (Thanks Suzy!)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Fun times
Kate to Suzy "When you die, are you going to be old, not old like you are now, but old old"?
Kate is a very tender hearted child. Just the other day, she started getting all sad and teary eyed. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me she was sad because Grandma Hart (Suzy's Maternal Grandmother) was dead, and she didn't get to meet her. I told her that we could see her when we got to Heaven. An interesting conversation about heaven ensued. She asked if we would be able to talk in Heaven, I informed that we would, she then asked, but aren't we all lying down there?
I think at that point I realized her picture of heaven was a bit different than mine. I hope I got it through to her that heaven is much like here, I'll have to check up on that when I get home today.
Last night at dinner, Kate mentioned that I'm not to look in any of the small bags from the store because they got something for me for father's day. Aren't kids great.
Whenever Kate wishes upon a Star, Suzy or I will ask her what she wished for. She'll tell us that she's not allowed to tell us, then she'll proceed to tell us (usually after a short pause). Most of the time it's a Puppy.
Little does she know I'm wishing on the same star that we never get a puppy. We'll see who's wishes are stronger.
Kate is a very tender hearted child. Just the other day, she started getting all sad and teary eyed. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me she was sad because Grandma Hart (Suzy's Maternal Grandmother) was dead, and she didn't get to meet her. I told her that we could see her when we got to Heaven. An interesting conversation about heaven ensued. She asked if we would be able to talk in Heaven, I informed that we would, she then asked, but aren't we all lying down there?
I think at that point I realized her picture of heaven was a bit different than mine. I hope I got it through to her that heaven is much like here, I'll have to check up on that when I get home today.
Last night at dinner, Kate mentioned that I'm not to look in any of the small bags from the store because they got something for me for father's day. Aren't kids great.
Whenever Kate wishes upon a Star, Suzy or I will ask her what she wished for. She'll tell us that she's not allowed to tell us, then she'll proceed to tell us (usually after a short pause). Most of the time it's a Puppy.
Little does she know I'm wishing on the same star that we never get a puppy. We'll see who's wishes are stronger.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Spelling B
Kate is just learning to read and write. Suzy's a great teacher, the English language is not a great language (lots of my best friends speak English, don't get me wrong, I love English, bless its heart). The other day she was spelling some names with the moveable letters. Faf was one of the highlights. Gramo (O = Ah) was another one. Have I mentioned that she has trouble with TH? We went to a birthday party on Saturday. Kate addressed the package (I'm going to hopefully get a picture of it). HapE BIRTDA (Yes, her "A" looks a bit like an O, or a Q in the HapE)
Anyway, I think it's cute that she's inherited my spelling skills.
Anyway, I think it's cute that she's inherited my spelling skills.
Also, she got a hold of a Michael Jordon picture that I'd printed off the other day. She gave him a sweet makeover. Purple "chapstick" and eyelashes. Then she renamed him Isla Lashes (she has a friend named Isla and really likes the name Isla Lashes). She wrote the name at the bottom...wait for it....ILU - (U= uh).
Digital Watches
From Suzy "We just got back from the Dr. everything looks good, and the kids behaved! So we went to McD's for lunch. they got digital watches in their happy meals, and Kate LOVES hers. Every 20-30 seconds, she says, "Hmm, let's see what time it is!" or "Mommy! guess what time it is?!"
they are cute :)"
they are cute :)"
Friday, June 11, 2010
Freedom of Religion
A couple of really good links (copy and past into your browser window):
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/religious-freedom
http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/the-threatened-demise-of-religion-in-the-public-square-talk-given-by-elder-lance-b-wickman-at-j-reuben-clark-law-society
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/religious-freedom
http://www.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/the-threatened-demise-of-religion-in-the-public-square-talk-given-by-elder-lance-b-wickman-at-j-reuben-clark-law-society
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Kid's funny sayings and other Misc. items.
Kate "Mommy, sometimes my toots smell good. I just tooted, and it smelled like a piece of chocolate!"
One more from Kate - as she was expressing to Suzy how much she loves her, she said, "I love you as much as daddy loves the Hottie". When Suzy asked who the Hottie was, she told her "Its you mommy".
Kate's got that right.
6/8/2010 email from Suzy "The dentist visit went well. I could hear Kate giggling as I got my cleaning done, so that's a good sign. They said her teeth look great, and she was very cooperative! faith sat and watched baby einstein and was very well behaved too! So I told them we could go out to lunch. kate wanted eggs and toast and butter, so we went to IHOP. Faith got a face pancake, then ate all the features off of it, along with the top layer of "skin" and was finished. Then the song Kung Fu Fighting came on, so the jumped out of the booth and started some mad dancing. It was too cute to stop :) "
Apparently they were using their "mad faces" for the dance. Always appropriate for fight dancing
6/9/2010
We went out to Chapala's with our buy one get one 1/2 off coupons. The kids munched 4 bowls of the free beans they bring out with the chips. Faith also dropped Suzy's keys down a crevice of no return (between the bench and the wall). Fortunately, we were able to transform the crevice by moving the bench. This was after my Micron 3 on 3 game against BigB (6'9 330lbs or so). We lost, but had fun. The girls like to play in the sand volleyball pits, Faith of course got sand in her eyes (thanks for throwing sand Kate). Kate lost Rosetta and Jonathon story privileges for that night due to ignoring us.
6/3/2010 - Suzy Email with some Kate saying highlights
"We're back! We had a great time! And good thing we are going back tonight, because they did NOT want to leave :) Anberlin came with us, and everyone was great!
Okay, so while I was looking for a parking spot, Kate was telling me how much she loves animals, and that she wants to be a vet when she grows up. I told her that I remember wanting to be a vet too, because I love animals. And she asked why I didn't become one. I said I wanted to be a mom even more. She asked why again, and I said Because I love my kids more than animals. Then she said, " Good thing we worked really hard to be really cute for you when we came out!" :)
As we were getting out of the car, we heard the trumpet of an elephant. The girls got SO excited and all started spitting (trying to make the elephant noise). I couldn't believe that Boise had gotten an elephant! Turns out it was a bird, but the girls still loved it.
We went to the gibbons, and I asked kate if they had a tail or not. She saw that they had no tail, and therefore must be an ape. Well, all the peeps around us kept calling them monkeys, and she got really exasperated, saying, "It's an ape! Not a monkey! Why do people keep calling them monkeys!?" It was getting a bit embarrassing, so we left that exhibit.
Overall, it was a great day! Now it's nap time!"
6/1/2010
From Suzy "Faith kept asking for what sounded like her "broccoli glasses". I couldn't understand what she meant, so she finally said, "Broccoli, sssssss, broccoli, ssssss!" Put an S at the beginning of broccoli, what does it sound like?"
I guessed right - Sparkly!
5/26/2010 - Email from Suzy
"Faith pulled a couple of funnies today:In the car, she said:"Lemme tell you sumting Mommy. Funny joke. Laugh lot." [long pause] (me wondering if that was the joke)
"Daddy.... head... milkshake! [snorting laughter]"
She thought it was hilarious, and I mostly laughed at her laughing at herself :)
At the library, she sat on a rolling stool. Kate wanted to sit on it too, so she sat down behind Faith, with their backs facing each other. Now, to set the scene, we are in the upstairs part of the library, and I had forewarned the kids that they needed to be very quiet up there. So Faith doesn't like that Kate is sitting behind her, and tries to push her off by leaning on her. I tell them it's time to go, and Kate stands up abruptly. Now how do I describe this? Faith launches backwards off the stool, and actually stalls in a headstand for a full 2 seconds before crashing to floor screaming. I'm giggling even as I write this, I wish you could have seen it. So i just hugged her and tried to hide my laughter, and told her she could push the buttons on the elevator. she calmed down instantly. it was SO funny!"
5/25/2010 Declan - and Faith and Poo (email from Suzy)
"And yes, I did look up the meaning of Declan. It was the name of an Irish Saint, and the meaning has been lost. One sight said it meant "Full of goodness" but the rest said the saint thing.Faith is still wearing panties, even at the Dr. office. She has been holding her poo in for more than 48 hours now. She's gotta blow soon. I'll keep you posted."I hope by now you've noticed a pattern. Suzy is a dag midgetly funny writer. And our kids say funny things. Also, if we do end up naming our boy Decklin/Declan, we can trace it back to a certain movie (Leap Year is what I think it was called).5/20/2010 Suzy email and commentary
"Also. Guess who forgot today was Thursday, and that I was supposed to visit teach today, and left my phone in the car so didn't get the multiple calls from people wondering where I am. Also: did you use a knife on the DVD player?! It wasn't opening, so Kate ran to get one. You are officially in trouble with a capital B. (trouBle)
I think I will give the steaks to all the people I stood up today. Also, I pretty much bought Costco today.
suzy"note on this one - I did in fact use a table knife to open the DVD player after Kate had double stacked the DVDs. Gotta be careful what I let them see....
One more from Kate - as she was expressing to Suzy how much she loves her, she said, "I love you as much as daddy loves the Hottie". When Suzy asked who the Hottie was, she told her "Its you mommy".
Kate's got that right.
6/8/2010 email from Suzy "The dentist visit went well. I could hear Kate giggling as I got my cleaning done, so that's a good sign. They said her teeth look great, and she was very cooperative! faith sat and watched baby einstein and was very well behaved too! So I told them we could go out to lunch. kate wanted eggs and toast and butter, so we went to IHOP. Faith got a face pancake, then ate all the features off of it, along with the top layer of "skin" and was finished. Then the song Kung Fu Fighting came on, so the jumped out of the booth and started some mad dancing. It was too cute to stop :) "
Apparently they were using their "mad faces" for the dance. Always appropriate for fight dancing
6/9/2010
We went out to Chapala's with our buy one get one 1/2 off coupons. The kids munched 4 bowls of the free beans they bring out with the chips. Faith also dropped Suzy's keys down a crevice of no return (between the bench and the wall). Fortunately, we were able to transform the crevice by moving the bench. This was after my Micron 3 on 3 game against BigB (6'9 330lbs or so). We lost, but had fun. The girls like to play in the sand volleyball pits, Faith of course got sand in her eyes (thanks for throwing sand Kate). Kate lost Rosetta and Jonathon story privileges for that night due to ignoring us.
6/3/2010 - Suzy Email with some Kate saying highlights
"We're back! We had a great time! And good thing we are going back tonight, because they did NOT want to leave :) Anberlin came with us, and everyone was great!
Okay, so while I was looking for a parking spot, Kate was telling me how much she loves animals, and that she wants to be a vet when she grows up. I told her that I remember wanting to be a vet too, because I love animals. And she asked why I didn't become one. I said I wanted to be a mom even more. She asked why again, and I said Because I love my kids more than animals. Then she said, " Good thing we worked really hard to be really cute for you when we came out!" :)
As we were getting out of the car, we heard the trumpet of an elephant. The girls got SO excited and all started spitting (trying to make the elephant noise). I couldn't believe that Boise had gotten an elephant! Turns out it was a bird, but the girls still loved it.
We went to the gibbons, and I asked kate if they had a tail or not. She saw that they had no tail, and therefore must be an ape. Well, all the peeps around us kept calling them monkeys, and she got really exasperated, saying, "It's an ape! Not a monkey! Why do people keep calling them monkeys!?" It was getting a bit embarrassing, so we left that exhibit.
Overall, it was a great day! Now it's nap time!"
6/1/2010
From Suzy "Faith kept asking for what sounded like her "broccoli glasses". I couldn't understand what she meant, so she finally said, "Broccoli, sssssss, broccoli, ssssss!" Put an S at the beginning of broccoli, what does it sound like?"
I guessed right - Sparkly!
5/26/2010 - Email from Suzy
"Faith pulled a couple of funnies today:In the car, she said:"Lemme tell you sumting Mommy. Funny joke. Laugh lot." [long pause] (me wondering if that was the joke)
"Daddy.... head... milkshake! [snorting laughter]"
She thought it was hilarious, and I mostly laughed at her laughing at herself :)
At the library, she sat on a rolling stool. Kate wanted to sit on it too, so she sat down behind Faith, with their backs facing each other. Now, to set the scene, we are in the upstairs part of the library, and I had forewarned the kids that they needed to be very quiet up there. So Faith doesn't like that Kate is sitting behind her, and tries to push her off by leaning on her. I tell them it's time to go, and Kate stands up abruptly. Now how do I describe this? Faith launches backwards off the stool, and actually stalls in a headstand for a full 2 seconds before crashing to floor screaming. I'm giggling even as I write this, I wish you could have seen it. So i just hugged her and tried to hide my laughter, and told her she could push the buttons on the elevator. she calmed down instantly. it was SO funny!"
5/25/2010 Declan - and Faith and Poo (email from Suzy)
"And yes, I did look up the meaning of Declan. It was the name of an Irish Saint, and the meaning has been lost. One sight said it meant "Full of goodness" but the rest said the saint thing.Faith is still wearing panties, even at the Dr. office. She has been holding her poo in for more than 48 hours now. She's gotta blow soon. I'll keep you posted."I hope by now you've noticed a pattern. Suzy is a dag midgetly funny writer. And our kids say funny things. Also, if we do end up naming our boy Decklin/Declan, we can trace it back to a certain movie (Leap Year is what I think it was called).5/20/2010 Suzy email and commentary
"Also. Guess who forgot today was Thursday, and that I was supposed to visit teach today, and left my phone in the car so didn't get the multiple calls from people wondering where I am. Also: did you use a knife on the DVD player?! It wasn't opening, so Kate ran to get one. You are officially in trouble with a capital B. (trouBle)
I think I will give the steaks to all the people I stood up today. Also, I pretty much bought Costco today.
suzy"note on this one - I did in fact use a table knife to open the DVD player after Kate had double stacked the DVDs. Gotta be careful what I let them see....
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