I have been married to my husband for 31 years, but didn't realize until we retiled our bathroom that I didn't really know him. It seemed like a simple, life affirming act. Our home of 26 years had needed a new bathroom since the 1994 Northridge quake. Far be it from us to act in haste. No we let it settle... for 13 years. We let all possible manner of aftershocks subside. We gave it lots of thought and then found a neighbor who agreed to do the highly skilled stuff, like the "tiling" for a highly charitable price, before we commited to the act. Congress moves faster than my husband when it comes to appropriating funds for home improvement. Now you have to understand, we have watched neighbors up and down the street install pools, second stories,
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So off to Lowe's to purchase new tile. I became dizzy with excitement. But soon sobered, if you've seen one white cheap four-inch tile you've seen them all. We bought the tile, along with thousands of little plus signs (spacers) and goopy stuff to stick the tile down with. Frank, our neighbor, was a genius. He made the four-inch white, cheap tiles look like a million bucks. Now, because Frank has a real job, and only does charity tiling at night, the actual process of tiling took a week. Then there was the process of grouting, and cleaning the grout, and then letting it all set until you "sealed" the grout. It took a couple of weeks to achieve "tiling critical mass". Now at this point, you are thinking...ahh, shower time.....nope...not even close. It was a ritual of epic proportion to actually choose the "shower curtain" that would match the sherbet orange paint the bathroom now enjoyed. It may surprise you to know, there just aren't a lot of "sherbet" orange compatible shower curtains out there. In fact, it wasn't until I was in France, 7,000 miles away from Mr. "How much does that cost?" that I was able to match the paint and achieve shower curtain parity. Yes, Virginia, there is now a shower in actual use in my …show more content…
This option has several important advantages over the traditional solution of "trading up" to a larger home. For one thing, it eliminates the time-consuming task and cost of moving or relocating your family. Most important, particularly in an uncertain real estate market, you don't have to worry about selling your home. Once you are convinced that improving your current surroundings is your best ticket to your "dream home" then it is time to consider how to pay for your improvements. Explore the basic options. You may, of course, wish to use your savings, liquidate other investments, or pay for them out of your current cash flow. On the other hand, if you prefer to finance your improvements, it is helpful to be familiar with the options that are commonly available. Essentially, there are several basic approaches. -Securing a second mortgage on your home by borrowing against the equity you have built up in it. -Taking out an unsecured home improvement loan -Refinancing your current first mortgage loan. Deciding which option is best for you depends on a number of factors, ranging from the size of your borrowing needs to the repayment options of the loan programs you are considering. For example, a home equity loan offers the security of fixed interest rates. With a fixed-rate home equity loan, borrowers can avoid interest rate
So off to Lowe's to purchase new tile. I became dizzy with excitement. But soon sobered, if you've seen one white cheap four-inch tile you've seen them all. We bought the tile, along with thousands of little plus signs (spacers) and goopy stuff to stick the tile down with. Frank, our neighbor, was a genius. He made the four-inch white, cheap tiles look like a million bucks. Now, because Frank has a real job, and only does charity tiling at night, the actual process of tiling took a week. Then there was the process of grouting, and cleaning the grout, and then letting it all set until you "sealed" the grout. It took a couple of weeks to achieve "tiling critical mass". Now at this point, you are thinking...ahh, shower time.....nope...not even close. It was a ritual of epic proportion to actually choose the "shower curtain" that would match the sherbet orange paint the bathroom now enjoyed. It may surprise you to know, there just aren't a lot of "sherbet" orange compatible shower curtains out there. In fact, it wasn't until I was in France, 7,000 miles away from Mr. "How much does that cost?" that I was able to match the paint and achieve shower curtain parity. Yes, Virginia, there is now a shower in actual use in my …show more content…
This option has several important advantages over the traditional solution of "trading up" to a larger home. For one thing, it eliminates the time-consuming task and cost of moving or relocating your family. Most important, particularly in an uncertain real estate market, you don't have to worry about selling your home. Once you are convinced that improving your current surroundings is your best ticket to your "dream home" then it is time to consider how to pay for your improvements. Explore the basic options. You may, of course, wish to use your savings, liquidate other investments, or pay for them out of your current cash flow. On the other hand, if you prefer to finance your improvements, it is helpful to be familiar with the options that are commonly available. Essentially, there are several basic approaches. -Securing a second mortgage on your home by borrowing against the equity you have built up in it. -Taking out an unsecured home improvement loan -Refinancing your current first mortgage loan. Deciding which option is best for you depends on a number of factors, ranging from the size of your borrowing needs to the repayment options of the loan programs you are considering. For example, a home equity loan offers the security of fixed interest rates. With a fixed-rate home equity loan, borrowers can avoid interest rate