Thanks. (Trying to figure out the best way for my parents to send me the money for the down payment, because it had been in one of their retirement accounts or something, and it didn't occur to them to take it out of the retirement account and have it in an account that they could send it to me from until I specifically asked them to, and so what I thought would be just them writing a check and sending it to me is taking a lot longer than that, and I need to have proof that the money is in my account for the mortgage.)

OK, I figured out that, if I use my debit card rather than transferring by using the routing numbers for the checking account, it's a lot faster. That's irritating, but at least it's a kind of irritating that I can work with.

And, just got my PayPal account suspended for suspicious activity. (I think I fixed it. Waiting for confirmation on that.)

Holy crap, Hil! It usually takes until close of business for paypal funds to show up in my account, using the debit card. Though sometimes it's the next morning. It usually takes them a little longer to sort out weird stuff.

Thanks for the eyebrow ramble, guys. I feel much less incompetent.

The mortgage guy says that I can get an adjustable rate mortgage, but not a fixed rate one, and that if some more condos in the complex sell at more reasonable prices in the next few years, then we can renegotiate the rate. I'm not totally sure what all that means, so now I'm googling stuff. (If anyone actually knows what it means, and if it's good or not, I would be very grateful if you could explain it to me.)

It means the interest rate you pay changes at some fixed interval, I believe. A fixed rate means you pay, for example, 5% over the life of the mortgage.

I would say it depends when it's adjusted and how high it can go.

It looks like some also include a charge for early payoff of the balance, so that would obviously be something to look out for.

Hil, are you working with a mortgage broker or a bank? A broker should be able to get you a fixed-rate mortgage.

ARMs generally start out cheaper than fixed-rate, but because the interest rate fluctuates with the market, they are riskier for the buyer.

Thanks. He gave me a few different options for how long it would be until the rate was adjusted, and there were different rates for each of those options. I'm working with a bank. I'll talk to the realtor about other mortgage options. The mortgage person had been saying that I could get a fixed rate mortgage, until the appraisal came in. I'm waiting to hear back from the realtor now.

I've had adjustable the last couple times. It is only a danger if interest rates spike. And yes, you can continue to look for a fixed rate later.

Mortgage brokers have more options than banks.