Buying That First Home: Bank Drama

NOTE: This is a migrated entry.

So I got a call from my agent, who got a call from my broker. It seems my financing has been approved!...with a contingency. Ugh.

Before I go into the contingency it's important you get a little background. My credit report is pristine. I have no negative accounts. I did file Chapter 13 BK back in 2004, was discharged this month. I really did it because at the time, my income far exceeded my debts - even though I wasn't really delinquent on anything, I just needed a reprieve. By the time the BK was near discharge, my income had tripled, so it was significantly easier to deal with the debt, plus the biggest loan I had on there was a private loan from Sallie Mae - but the school closed before I finished. California's Student Tuition Recovery Fund made that go away and gave me all of my money back. Also, I had managed to open some credit card accounts to get some positive account history going on. I have three credit cards that I've had for over two years.

So now you know the history. The contingency is...the lender wants all of my credit cards paid off. That's no easy task, at least not in the short timeline they want it done. I can pay off my credit cards in roughly a month, give or take...unfortunately this has to be completed by July 29th. Not happening. It's not a lot being asked...it's the timing of it all.

So, my guys are going to work with the list agent and bank to see if they will do one of the following:

1. Accept a loan price increased by $3000, offer a $3000 credit at closing, and set a requirement that the credit be applied to pay off all credit card balances, with an agreement from the lender that we're doing that; or
2. Excuse the earnest money deposit (which is just shy of $3,000) so I can put that towards the credit cards instead, and close with no money out of pocket.

I actually prefer the first option, because the bank will still get the earnest deposit, which they should get. The second option is dangerous, both to me and the bank, because the bank doesn't benefit at all except they get the house off their books.

So...I continue to wait while I play this juggling act between banks. Fun.

Review: Flavia Fusion Coffee Maker

NOTE: This is a migrated entry.

There was a time when I could down 6 cups of coffee or so, and I desperately needed that much coffee in previous jobs where I would work a 6am shift. In my current job under previous management, the workload was stressful enough that I still required that much coffee to stay energized enough to continue contributing to the team. Under my current management, I've toned it back to one cup of Breakfast Blend every morning - nothing after that except water and non-carbonated drinks. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, I have had three separate types of coffee machines. The first was a one-cup machine that came with a cup. You put grounds in the top, poured hot water in another area, and it spit out a cup. Of course this meant constantly purchasing bags of coffee grounds or grounding my own beans - neither of which I was inclined to do. The problem I always encountered was the loss of freshness after some time (the grounds). And of course, during this time I was drinking more than one cup, so it was quite inconvenient. That machine was trashed.

Second machine was a much spiffier take on the same methodology, but it supported up to 8 cups from one ground load. It also supported push button, so you could just press your cup to the button and get coffee. Quite nice actually - but then (ironically enough) I toned back to the one cup, making this option overkill. I also grew somewhat lazy, as I just want to set it and forget it. So I got to researching various automated coffee makers.

Word to audience: the Starbucks brewers are a blatant rip-off. They probably paid $50 wholesale for each yet try to charge $300-$400 for something you can get elsewhere at $100 that does a better job. And then had the nerve to assume that their brand name would make those machines fly off the shelves. Nuh uh.

In comes Flavia Fusion. Our job has the enterprise Flavia machines in the break rooms. They're simple and efficient to use. Different sealed coffee pods are put in, coffee comes out roughly 30 seconds later. Of course, the enterprise versions are tapped directly into the water line, so coffee is nearly instant. There are also sensors so it doesn't shoot coffee if there's no cup, and a reservoir for used pods that's easy to dump. LCD screen so you can more easily make selections, and we've found it saved money hand over foot vs. the old pot version.

Flavia Fusion is a personal version of the same. It does not tap into the water line and does not have an LCD screen, but the pods are still used. What's more, you can brew nearly anything: hot tea, hot chocolate, coffee of various strengths and flavors, cappuccinos, mochaccinos, lattes including tea-based lattes, and espressos. Because each pod is sealed and separate, your drinks will never get mixed together or anything - every drink is like a fresh pot was brewed. It takes roughly a minute to warm up the first time if it's been off for a while, then 45 seconds to brew the first cup, so altogether maybe 2 minutes to your first sip. It seems like a while, and I much prefer the enterprise version, but you won't even notice it if you brew coffee in the morning.

Some issues I have:

• No timer. The enterprise version doesn't have one either, but it would be nice for the Fusion to just have the ability. If you get up at roughly the same time every morning and have roughly the same routine, it'd be nice to just leave a cup and a pack in there and schedule a hot coffee for the next morning so you don't have to do it.
• No hot water function (this was resolved with the newer Fusion Deluxe, but Flavia will not upgrade you)
• Discontinuation of various drinks. Like Darjeeling - I know people were claiming it's too similar to Earl Grey, but a tea specialist such as myself can clearly tell the difference. Darjeeling is a morning tea, like English Breakfast, while Earl Grey is a midday-to-early evening tea. They're not the same.
• No reservoir for used pods - this is a nitpick, but it would really be helpful.
• Water reservoir holds about 3 cups worth of drinks. To me that's just pathetic.

I still recommend it for those who drink coffee, tea, or like specialty drinks. I believe it to be a great investment...it's saved hundreds of dollars while providing quality drinks.