Kalshane,

I think you should discuss this with the broker. He might be able to come down on costs if you mention that another financial institution can do it more cheaply.

The main expense for closing costs in a refi is points. If you aren't paying points and it is a run of the mill mortgage, your closing costs should be around $1000 (I think).

BTW, you are likely to do this, but you may also want to check into pre-payment penalties. When I refi'd with ING, I couldn't pay it off within 2 years (I think) or they would assess a penalty.

At 51% of the population, I don't think women count as a particularly narrow group. Our interests aren't particularly "special". They're the interests of about half of humanity.

Yeah, I was being sarcastic.

Obama also gave a gift to racists, Right Wing Christians, and greedy corporate executives, four more years in which they can do their favorite thing: sqwawk about how they're being oppressed. Where's their gratitude?

Not at all. Before we bought the new house we were in the process of refinancing, and we got numbers from the bank holding the mortgage, the mortgage broker and our financial adviser and played them all off each other for the best deal. The mortgage broker actually told us after seeing current bank's numbers that we'd be much better off with their deal and why.

Yeah, we worked with three different people/institutions when we refinanced and went with the best option for us. The broker (who we'd worked with three times before, and who I've known since I was a kid) just couldn't get us as good a deal as People's Bank could. We did a HARP refi, no appraisal, and closed within a month. It was great. Dropped our rates almost in half.

I think the problem I'm having with GOP statements right now is that it really doesn't sound like they get the part where they are supposed to be elected representatives.

Instead they sound like I'm supposed to change so that they can win.

From that BuzzFeed link, I'm getting judgmental about whoever filmed the wheelchair/escalator person and didn't go help.

I assumed it was like, a security camera, Raq--because who happens to be filming an escalator, just when someone in a wheelchair decides to get on? But then I start thinking maybe it was a prank, and so on, and so forth...

I'm judgemental about the ass of a congressperson who is a doctor and slept with patients and a drug rep, while married no less, and encouraged his wife and others to get abortions. He is, of course, a Republican (which makes the abortion part rather hypocritical). But what got me was the last line of a WashPost article where he was quoted as saying something like "I'm offended, no one has ever questioned my integrity before!" and I"m like DUDE. DUDE. (a) clearly they should have and (b) What part of these situations make you think you still HAVE integrity?

Off the top of my head I can't believe that someone was randomly filming a stranger who *needs* a wheelchair try and take one up an escalator. That strikes me as unlikely at about every point.

However, if they did need help, the clip is seconds long. It's not like there's half an hour of them cackling in the background as she slowly gets pulled between the slits. Dropping the camera and heading over to help seems perfectly possible. It's an animated GIF. It's not exactly salacious lingering.

I know nothing in Scandal is plausible, but I guess we all have our "stuff". Some of the stuff last night was mine. But--it's still campy fun. And... Holland Manners-- who trusted you anyway?

I keep thinking Le Vian is the only company to make jewellery from chocolate. The truth is much more disappointing.

Apparently a lot of Republicans just want Romney to shut up and go away.

Which would be convincing if they didn't agree with him. And they do. They just don't want this shit publicly aired.

They are disagreeing with him so they can look more moderate in contrast and perhaps save their political futures in 2 or 4 years.

Not all Republicans agree with what Romney says. Unfortunately the moderates are being drowned out by the tea-partiers and ultra-conservatives. They're also being driven out of office at an alarming rate.

I'm loathe to paint every Republican with the same brush. [link]

MFNLaw, that was hysterical and true. And in the comments, some dumbass says "A candidate for the Presidency should provide proof of citizenship. Obama should have already been vetted. Why was he not ? That is not a partisan question. It is a simple matter of Constitutional law."

What is wrong with people?