About Me

Denise

"Develop a plan that is so amazing, so glowing, that you are willing to walk blurry-eyed to work everyday to make the money necessary to reach the light." Sparky

I'm a freelance journalist and crafter who dreams of starting my own business-- a hometown Tiki bar. I am a former New Orleans Bourbon Street bartender.

The tiki challenge: I must find creative new revenue streams, apart from my career.

**Five year tiki goal: $40,000**
**2009 Tiki fund goal: $2,500**
$2427.43 to go

**Total tiki money: $3,032.74**

***Savings Goals for 2009***
$10,000 into savings/ EF
$2,000 into 529 plan
$2,000 to Roth IRA
$2,620 extra college fund
$600 into new car fund
Total: $17,200

Pay $3,000 extra on student loan. Balance: $0. PAID OFF
As much as possible to IRA

***Progress Report***
$7343 savings, $2657 to go
$2200 to 529 plan, GOAL MET
$100 to Roth, $1900 to go
$400 to new car fund, $200 to go
$175 to IRA
$2,620 to extra college fund, GOAL MET

Student loan extra: PAID OFF

**Non- financial goals**
Write a novel in a month
Lose 10 pounds
Grow 100 pounds of veggies

**Progress**
0 pounds lost-- pregnant!
4 pages written
53.54 lbs. veggies grown

My Pages

My house is officially worth less...

August 27th, 2008 at 08:39 am

I got a notice from the county auditor this morning. My house is officially worth $5,000 less than I paid for it 2 and a half years ago. I guess, in a way, this is good, because this value means less I'll have to pay in property taxes.

But it still hurts a bit, especially considering we've put almost $25,000 in work into the house in that time. (All cash, thank you.)

A new roof, A geothermal heating and cooling system, new Marmoleum kitchen floor, new Energy Star windows. I guess I can't complain too much. Two of those projects have saved me a ton on my energy bills already.

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “My house is officially worth less...”

gruntina Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 08:49 am

2 years ago we had 85,000 equity on our home. The value dropped almost 30 percent since then. Now we owe on the loan the same as the value of the home so we are working hard to pay off additional principle to get it down again.

I wished we did not get an appraisal on it because I almost rather not know but we needed to know to make determination if we wanted to spend any costs to renovate on the house or not. We decided to put the money saved for the renovation to the principle of the mortgage instead. Our interest is 5.5% so it�s a good time to tackle the principle.

On the bright side, we do live in a desired climate so I do believe that the housing market will get better again someday, just not in the near future.
seven of seven Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 08:51 am

My county tax assessor dropped the value of my condo by $64,000! I'm okay with it because I plan to keep the condo for several more years and I'm counting on the economy picking back up. I live in a coastal community in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I believe the value will return.
Broken Arrow Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 09:27 am

Sounds like you guys are taking good care of your home and that it'll serve you well. Unless you're planning to put it on sale, I would definitely be glad about having to pay less taxes.
Analise Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 09:40 am

Our condo's value has dropped over $100,000 since we moved into it in 2006. Fortunately, I bought it in 2003 with 55% down so we still have a decent amount of equity. I feel badly for people whose homes are now worth less than their mortgage... now that is really a sad situation.
toyguy1963 Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 10:46 am

I had the same basic thing happen when I first bought my house. It was explained to me that there are kind of like 2 values placed on your home. One is the appraisal that is done for property taxes. They usually are lower than what you think but the good thing is that it saves on property taxes. The other value for your home is what houses are actually selling for in reality. If you were to sell your home you would get much more than the tax appraisal value. So in other words you really don't have to worry too much. Its just one of those things that they do in an odd way but all works out in the end.
thriftorama Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 11:35 am

Luckily, My house is paid off, so I don't have the heartache of owing as much or more than my loan. And, I'm not planning to sell for 15 to 30 years, so I'm good there, but it is sad to have put so much money and work into it and think that if I were in a pinch I'd end up in the hole!
gruntina Says:
August 27th, 2008 at 01:29 pm

thriforama - I am pretty sure the value of your home will go up again in several years and you will see the renovation you put into the home will not be a loss. You are maintaining a home and it will still be in good condition in several years.

Thrift-o-rama and the quest for a Tiki Bar

One girl's quest to shore up her personal finances and save for her own business

My house is officially worth less...

7 Responses to “My house is officially worth less...”

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