Hell, more than a ray.  The sun just came out and I’m whistling zip-a-dee-do-da.

A little backstory here.  I refinanced my home mortgage just over a year ago.  I did so in order to roll over a home equity loan I had taken out as well as a loan I had taken to get the windows put in.  At the time I did this, my credit rating was pretty crappy (thanks to late payments on the previous mortgage during periods of unemployment or crappy jobs) so I had to get into a credit fixing program.  It was basically a higher rate ARM that was fixed for three years. 

My interest rate on that loanwas 8.75%, and my payments did not include my taxes or insurance.  After three years my rate would have started to adjust.  As most of you probably know, I suck at saving money, so when the taxes and insurance came due I found myself in a bind.  I got the first payment made on the insurance (and got the friend who spotted me the 1k paid back), but I still have another $1000 to pay on the insurance and a $1300 property tax bill. 

Plus the need to start saving for this years taxes and insurance.

So about a week ago my loan company calls me back and wants to know if they can see about refinancing me again now that I’ve had some time to straighten my credit out.  I tell them to go ahead, and lo and behold they can!  My credit isn’t perfect yet, but it’s improved back to right around the “average” credit rating.  They tell me they can get me into a fixed mortgage at 6.5%.

Hook me up, fellas!

They wanted me to pay for the appraisal up front.  Told them I couldn’t do it, so they waived it if I “promised” I really wanted to refinance.  Then they said they couldn’t put the taxes and insurance into the loan, but I told them I really wanted them to do so if at all possible.

I just got the final details on my new loan.

They are putting the taxes and insurance into my monthly payments, which are going to go up by around $200.  I am TOTALLY ok with this, because it means I don’t have to worry about it (and as my payments are automatically taken out of my bank account it’s even less of a stress for me).  Not only that, but they are required by law to include any payments I owe within 60 days of the closing of the loan into the package.  So those property taxes I owe and the balance of my property insurance?  Part of my loan. 

My first payment is due in on May 1st, and because it’s closing at the end of March I’m still going to have to make the April payment so that I’m still on time (and really, it’s not worth the effort to go through all the trouble to stop they payment from the third party company I use just to have to call them again to tell them where to send the new ones).  So I should be getting that $1100 payment back somewhere in the first part of April.  I’m also getting $1400 back from the loan itself. 

So to sum up – Lower interest rate.  Taxes and Insurance included in the loan.  Back taxes and currently due insurance payment paid.  $2500 in cash to put towards credit cards sometime in the next few weeks.  Lower, and more importantly, fixed interest rate.

Oh yeah.  I’m a happy camper.  This whole situation was causing me quite a lot of stress.  Feel like a great big burden has just been taken off my shoulders.

Yay!