To save we need to find $2000
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| Sat, 08-02-2008 - 6:22pm |
Dh and I bought an ancient old house for about $25,000. We did not get a traditional mortgage (private), so the house will be paid off in 3 years.
We also have loads of student loan debt that eats up all our money.
We basically pay out in mortgage and student loans $1200 a month. And that is just paying minimums.
Well Dh and I went to the bank to discuss our finances (something we do every other year).
Last time they said nothing could be done (we had not yet bought the house and only had one old car).
Well this time we got good news. We can get a line of equity/mortgae on out home (special thing cause they house is considered paid in full by the bank but techinically is not).
Our home was assesed 2 years ago at $46,000 and that was with having no renovations done since 1982 (they put in a toilet, heaters and a new sill). The other reno's to the house have been electricity in 1949 and Plumbing in 1926....nothing else since it was built in 1848. the lot is worth more then the house, we live in a enighbourhood where houses go for $150,000 ours is the oldest and shabbiest house but we have a lovely lot ina prime location. All the houses are OLD as dirt.
Since then we have added a woodstove and new chimeny, taken out all five of the old chimenys, Dh has redone the upstairs (aka added insulation something we never had).
The house is not insurable till we redo the eletrical system...which will cost $2000 (cheapest price we found).
Once we have insurance they bank will have it reassessed, IF the house value has gone over $50,000 then we can get this mortgage/equity...whcih will pay off the house and ALL our student loans and drop our monthly payments from $1200 a month to $338 a month.
This is so exciting to us!!! DH makes a decent living just everything was being eaten by our bills.
But now it is the question of WHERE to get $2000!!!
We are expecting and unexpected baby in 11 weeks, I am self employed and I own a shop that I have to pay rent on...so I have been working as hard as my body will allow me to (my job is VERY physical, on my feet all day, lifting up to 75lbs, hot and very humid) and saving every penny I can so I can put them money on rent and daycare when I am not working (I so far can only afford to take off 3 weeks).
My goal was to save enough for 6 weeks but I am may fallshort of that (my body is giving out more then I would like it too:( ) So I don't think I can get the $2000.
Dh can work overtime...he did that, he worked an extra 20 hours per week, but it put his opaycheck into the next tax bracket and he only brought home $100 a week after doing over $500 worth of work (just the way the tax system works, I can't complain too hard but it does bite).
Dh works a second job and has $300 saved...after working every evening, for 2 months...
We spend VERY little and we are very frugal. My DS's both had birthday's this week and both boys got gifts from the second hand shop, b/c I cannot afford anything new.
DH wants to ask family members for the money but I don not want to. Number one my pride, but number two if the money comes from HIS family they like the rub it in THEY had to help us...we never here then end of it even when we pay back the money before the time we promised to do so (we borrowed money from them once before).
There is nothing left to sell in the house, I have sold everything that we do not need or use in the local paper (when our washing machine broke down we sold some furniture we used but it was cash!)
Dh is not happy I cannot seem to do anymore work...I already work 40+ hours a week, I am due in 11 weeks, I am a dog groomer so the job is NOT easy. I am not sure when he expects me to do extra hours, I get up and get the kids ready and take them to daycare, work all day, come home and pick the boys up (I pay extra to keep them at daycare past regualr closing time), I work every Sat, I come home make supper, feed the kids, get them bathed and in bed, do the hosuework/laundry...and start all over again.
Any ideas how else I can make this money, so we can save money??
Dh is also wary and so am I of using the money I saved for my matenrity leave just in case something does fall through (that would be worst case and unlikely to happen but if it did I would lose my shop aka my job)


All our married lives we have bought cheap houses and lived in them for a while and then sold them until this one we are in now.
When I did the other house before this one. It was total rehab.
Just a thought..
I am in Canada and there is no insurance that will cover the house, due to the electrical. If we go the historic route we have to renovate is 'historically' aka NO insulation, and we can only use the horse hair and lime plaster mix not new gyproc.
The insulation may be claimed here only if we are pre approved by the gov't.
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