Refi and renos

We started the paperwork to refinance and were able to lock in a rate at nearly a full percent lower than our current mortgage. If everything goes through smoothly and we close soon, we can be looking at a monthly payment several hundred dollars less per month starting in September.

Originally we considered a cash-out option to fix the roof. But we learned that if we take cash out then we're risking a higher rate for the entire mortgage. Instead, we decided to look into another option which was to close on refinancing and then take out a home equity line of credit for the renovations.

That was the plan until things escalated with the recent weather pattern. Over the past few days it's been so rainy and stormy and it's become evident that getting a new roof has become an urgent priority. We had to leave out bowls in a few locations to catch leaks over the weekend, and even had to empty one out before the rain let up. The roof has been giving us issues since we first moved here but it always seems like minor issues that we kept getting patched. It's not a patch issues anymore, we need a full new one and with all the sudden active leaks I worry that if we delay replacing the roof we might risk mold problems. Waiting for closing and then waiting for HELOC approval? I don't think we should wait that long. Even once we do have funding we still need to wait for the contractor to be available, order material, etc. I've started collecting estimates but it's still not something that happens overnight.

I did some more research and saw that there are multiple credit cards with 0% introductory APR for up to 18 months. I tried to figure out the catch, but other than the APR jumping to 17-24% after the intro period I couldn't see any drawbacks so I signed up. Without having to wait or submit any paperwork or putting a second lien on my house, we got funding for the roof. Right now we have one estimate in hand and two more are expected by the end of the week. I'm hoping we can finish the roof and any painting within the next few weeks.

In the meantime I'm in major purging mode. Some may call it nesting but it's just reality of emptying out a room to make space for what's to come. I got rid of two huge bags of clothing for donations, plus have been trying to take full advantage of trash pickup every week by adding at least one or two additional bags of accumulated crap that doesn't need to take up space. Of course the more I pull stuff out of drawers and closets the more it seems like it will never end. My immediate challenge is trying to get rid of an old, functional but dated, futon. I tried selling it; I tried giving it away; I tried donating it -- no success. If I don't get any bites I'll have to pay someone to haul it to the dumpster. 

TBC!