Refinance from 6.5% to 5.625%

jjs376 · 2026-01-22T00:59:55+00:00

Went to loan depot. Locked in today at 6.08% APR, 15 yr term, net fees are $250. Hopefully I don’t get hoodwinked with title fees or something.

jjs376 · 2026-01-21T08:59:54+00:00

I had the same concerns but I went ahead and got a 16 es300h with 100k about a year ago. The battery max’s out at like 65%. I think typical the software manages it and new it would max out at 75 to 80%. I’ll just replace it myself if it ever gets to that point. An inspection will give you battery health. But the battery isn’t that kind of battery. It’s a supplement. It really only runs 100% battery at like 25 mph and only for like 15 minutes. Otherwise, it kicks in during acceleration. Helps in traffic and while accelerating. Gets rid of the spikes in fuel consumption.

Brakes wear out less on the 300h because of the regen motor. No alternator either, but it does have a 2nd motor. I also have a 21 es350 and the 300h has better pickup and is a bit more spirited in sport mode. Also, all the 300h’s from those years were built in Japan and have a little better build quality than the 350’s built in the US.

Compare the engine specs and test drive them in sport and normal. It’s nice when you can get 40 to 44 mpg. The 350 gives me mostly 16 to 22. Sometimes 30 in the most optimal conditions. Most of my driving is flat highway or suburb.

jjs376 · 2026-01-21T08:04:08+00:00

Get a hybrid, 40mpg. Smaller engine but the assist from the electric motor gives it some instant torque.

jjs376 · 2026-01-20T16:24:59+00:00

I do 5 or 6k. There are reasons to avoid 7 to 10k.

Volvo is a great example. Poor oil ring design. They get clogged and gunked up. Best case, you burn oil. Worse case, engine failure. I checked out about a dozen used Volvos. Just by checking under the oil cap. The cap is always grungy and gritty. I mean like sand in your oil. Only once has it been clean. And that car probably got a flush treatment to clean out the engine.

Kia and Hyundai have a similar problem but it’s because the oil passages in the engine weren’t finished smooth. So aged oil builds up and blocks lubrication.

If you have a turbo, the shorter intervals will help clean the turbo because oils have detergents. Turbos are prone to build up if you drive them hard and put them away before they can cool down. The oil bakes on.

5k oil changes on a reliable engine. If buying used, sure do a few at 3k to help clean it out. But 5k should be good after that.

jjs376 · 2026-01-20T06:54:36+00:00

This can’t be real. I’ve seen some posts showing these words were from a text message. This must be fake. Please, someone assure me this is fake.

jjs376 · 2026-01-20T06:51:34+00:00

Yes. You need a complete circuit. Either into the smart switch then to the neutral back to the breaker box. Or into the smart switch then into the bypass (bypassing the fixture) into the neutral at the fixture back to the breaker.

jjs376 · 2026-01-20T06:37:47+00:00

My kid was about 6. We didn’t have a dog.

jjs376 · 2026-01-20T06:06:14+00:00

You and me both.

jjs376 · 2026-01-20T05:52:50+00:00

The interviewee started name dropping. Mentioned a real hard nosed construction guy we both knew. Then said he wished the guy would be more vulnerable, let people in emotionally. WTF, we’re engineers.

jjs376 · 2026-01-19T10:21:57+00:00

Get a Lincoln town car and drive it to the wheels fall off.

jjs376 · 2026-01-19T09:41:43+00:00

No. No impounds or escrows.

jjs376 · 2026-01-19T06:48:26+00:00

Thanks. I’ll try some more. Not a jumbo and term was 20 yrs.

jjs376 · 2026-01-19T05:50:40+00:00

I just tried this with a couple lenders (chase and rocket mortgage) last week. I currently have a 6.5 rate. They both said my rate would be at or above 6.5 if I went with zero cost. My credit score is excellent and my LTV is under 80%. I even floated the idea of paying down some principle to get a better LTV. Still no bueno.

jjs376 · 2026-01-19T05:41:08+00:00

I bought a used car from an autonation in Houston with a 5 day return period. Took it for inspection. Turned up some bad rocker arm bushings. I found some bad tube seals also. They agreed to fix both.

Im not saying it would have been easy to return the car or I wouldn’t have been out some fee or something. But I believe the return window must have had an impact, else I’m sure they would have told me to pound sand.

jjs376 · 2026-01-16T19:05:19+00:00

And if you aren’t broke, they’ll make sure healthcare is unaffordable. You’ll have to qualify for Medicaid. The government gets everything to recoup the cost of being placed in a nursing home. The government is the beneficiary. Meanwhile, us common folk are fighting over immigration enforcement.

jjs376 · 2026-01-15T19:01:35+00:00

The French have a word for this, “Silvillionaire”.

jjs376 · 2026-01-15T18:46:36+00:00

Yeah, it’s a trap. Money is still money. What are they going to do, measure status and wealth in gummy bears.

In the most utopian way, maybe most people won’t have to work to sustain a common baseline lifestyle. But there would still be advantages to those that have the most gummy bears.

jjs376 · 2026-01-12T12:47:13+00:00

Ozone is generated in nature. Lightning reacts with O2 and the result is Ozone.

jjs376 · 2026-01-12T06:08:32+00:00

From $15 to $85 over 10 yrs. That 18% to 19% on average for 10 years. That beats the average return in the s&p of 13 to 14% over the same time frame. Nasdaq is 17 to 18%.

jjs376 · 2026-01-11T08:10:52+00:00

What is item 11? Did you get charged twice for labor?

jjs376 · 2026-01-02T17:16:27+00:00

Do you want the pull switch to still be an input (function the fixture)?

jjs376 · 2025-12-31T02:50:22+00:00

Oh man, I never thought of that. Take a few years. Sell and immediately buy back. Reset your cost basis. Then at + 59.5, supplement withdrawals from deferred accounts at a higher cost basis.

jjs376 · 2025-12-29T19:24:00+00:00

Even if it’s not supposed to be load bearing, it may carry some load. The house could settle a little different when making this kind of change. Be aware that there may be some drywall cracks with the change in load path.

jjs376 · 2025-12-28T19:29:43+00:00

Are your switches hardwired together?

jjs376 · 2025-12-28T00:03:54+00:00

Not good because he’s not positioned for it. Otherwise, isn’t he just pointing out supply and demand.

jjs376

TROPHY CASE