Those “courier” fees crack me up too—like, are they hand-delivering my email on a velvet pillow or what? I’ve seen “doc prep” and “funding” fees that ...

Totally agree—there’s never a perfect moment. When we bought, our rate wasn’t great either, but we could actually afford it and had a little buffer fo...

Honestly, I’ve actually had some luck getting those “standard” fees knocked down, but it took a bit of persistence. Here’s what worked for me: - I as...

Went the lump sum route myself, and yeah, that initial sting writing the check was real...but man, afterward it felt like dropping a heavy backpack I'...

Went through something similar a few years back. Got tempted by the ARM's lower intro rate, figuring I'd definitely move before it adjusted. Then life...

Totally get the peace-of-mind angle, but I still lean towards going bigger on down payments. Lower debt means better cash flow month-to-month, and ref...

Good points, especially about HVAC. A few years back, I replaced my windows thinking it'd solve everything—it helped, but not as much as I hoped. Curi...

I've actually been through this myself, and while it feels unfair at first glance, there's a bit more to it: - Banks usually charge these fees becaus...