22(0) freak out

My mortgage payment book came today. And my monthly payment is $220/month more than I thought it would be. Actually it is almost $400/month more than I originally hoped.

Now is not a great time to be getting a mortgage. Mortgage companies are going over everything with a fine-tooth comb. My landlord gave me $10,000 credit toward the purchase price, from rent paid over the years. The mortgage companies said they could not accept it unless I could prove that I'd paid the $10,000 over market rent in the last two years. Which was impossible. Instead the Young's very generously knocked the $10, 000 off of the purchase price.

So, even though the purchase price was ultimately the same -- it made a huge difference in my down payment. I went from having 20% down to having to pay mortgage insurance. And property taxes went up considerably this year, not that anyone has quite figured out how much they are.

So, the bottom line is that I'll be paying twice what I was paying in rent (and adding my tenants rent to that) and living in the exact same house...and paying for more insurance, water and general repairs.

I know what my taxes will go down in a year when the homestead credit kicks in and that I can refinance in two years (by then I will be able to rid myself of the mortgage insurance). Good thing for my new tenant that I didn't know how much the mortgage was going to be.

And, I can swing it -- my car is paid for, I have a an embarrassing number of jobs and I'm healthy.

That said, I'm heading to bed to hide under the covers for the rest of the evening.