WTF-Beta

Johnson

Trick

This article in the NYT (paywall free link below) is the first I’ve heard about this “home equity investment” but wow does it sound like a bad idea!!

https://archive.is/1OB7D

Financial technology companies, including Hometap, Unlock, Unison and Point, give homeowners cash in a lump sum, based on percentage of the home’s current value, in exchange for a share of the home’s value at some point in the future. Homeowners agree to make a lump-sum payment at the end of the contract term — typically, 10 or 30 years — or earlier if the home is sold.

If homeowners can’t pay in full when the contract terminates, they can possibly take out another contract or mortgage to pay it off. If they can’t, they may be forced to sell their home.

Unlike traditional mortgages, the contracts don’t disclose an interest rate. Rather, homeowners are typically required to pay a percentage of the home’s value, or its increase in value, in a balloon payment at the end of the term. This is risky, consumer lawyers say, because it’s difficult to know what the home’s value will be and, therefore, how large a payment will be due.

In some cases, the terms entitle the provider to a payoff of double the percentage used to calculate the initial payout,

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

And also, there’s nonsense thing as free money.

Good grief.

Yikes!

Wonder what criteria they used to determine that it was dirty socks and not just regular socks …

@jon-nyc said:

But with them you have the added complication of a consort of senior staff who aren’t ready to retire but would lose their position if the top guy goes.

Yep.

Beast

What about that stuff you can buy to turn liquid into solid for disposal, I think it’s like putting sand into paint or cleaning supplies? Or kitty litter actually. Would that help?

Before we moved here, we bought a new set of LG washer and dryer that we liked. I think it was 2019, so the models are different now of course.

If you’re shopping at HD, I would probably focus on LG or GE.

@jon-nyc said:

I continue to believe the forum is a better place with you here.

Agreed.

And this forum is a better place with all of us here.

@AdagioM I have found that when I get more than one at a time, I feel crummy, but so far, getting only one (of any sort) hasn't made me feel bad.

In Dec. I'm scheduled for shot #2 of the shingle vax. Shot #1 made me feel horrible, so I'm really not looking forward to #2, which is said to be worse!

BTW, I spent some time tweaking my presentation notes today, and then got back into bed... I think I forgot how to be sick. I'm pretty sure I'm not very sick, and pre-covid me would be powering through this. But after all these years of never getting sick, I think I've turned into a big baby!

@jon-nyc said:

Again, if you can imagine some empathy for him, it’s actually sad he and his advisors chose this course.

I agree.

Someone I know, talking about when the right time to retire is, put it this way ‘leave when you’re an elder, not when you’re elderly’.

Good advice!

@jon-nyc more than just at-home masking, I’m really happy we don’t have to isolate from each other anymore.

He was in Japan for almost three weeks, and I was missing him, then he was home for two days and then got sick, so we’ve been isolating from each other since then, not eating together etc. And it was really wearing on me!

Now we don’t have to do that anymore, yay!

All during the early time of the pandemic, we never got sick so we never were isolated from each other. I now realize I missed a huge part of what was so stressful during the pandemic.

P.S. I just tested positive for Covid.

So it’s official now.

@AdagioM I really don’t like presenting on Zoom. I do it a fair amount, and I agree it’s very convenient and inexpensive. But I much prefer in person.
Anyway, I need to look at the program more closely, but there are most certainly a few sessions I’ll attend by Zoom, as long as I don’t feel too terrible. This conference is fully hybrid, so about half of the presenters were already scheduled to be on zoom, and all of the sessions will be available for zoom attendance.

My panel is a special invited panel (as opposed to the other ones, where presenters submit abstracts and have to be selected), and they’re giving us each an honorarium. If it wasn’t I might just cancel, but alas.

@Axtremus said:
(If you like what happened, you should pay me to travel again in 2028. )

Great photos! I won’t embarrass myself by trying to guess, although some of them I have an idea.

Alternative headline: not all heroes wear capes.

@wtg said:

totally vegged while I was feeling poorly.

I'll do my best to take it easy for the next several days. I'm really glad I'll just be at home. Plus, since my plan was to be out of town, I don't have other things on my calendar to juggle or cancel, so that's a relief!

@wtg said:

Hope you're feeling better soon, @shirokuro . How is Mr sk doing? Has he recovered enough to take care of you?

thank you! Mr SK is doing ok-ish. His cough isn't worsening, which is really great because it seems like that's one area where complications arise. And he's fine being up and about in the house, which is good because that means he's not so exhausted that all he can do is lie in bed. I think he feels like he's starting on the upward trajectory now.

I'll try not to be too needy though, because he will take care of me if I need it.

@Steve-Miller said:

I did find that staying in bed and sleeping most of the day made it pass very quickly.

Sadly, I need to finish prepping for the conference I was planning to attend, and then I'll present my part via Zoom.

Yuck. I hate Zoom.

BTW, once in the thread @wtg linked, I tried the other links (coffee room and restricted). Both are properly restricted.

That reminds me, I was a moderator in the ABF (like, a million years ago, when I still lived in Japan). When I stepped down, my mod access was not removed for ages. I don't know when it was finally removed, but of course it's long gone at this point.

They were looking for new mods about a month ago, I wonder if they found any.

@wtg interesting! How'd you get in?

Also, isn't it interesting that the pages are just sitting there?