Banking Woes

I met with the mortgage officer today. We are all set.

Some of the details:
The closing is still scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 pm.
15 years at 6.25%
(She's trying to convince the regional bank manager to cut it a bit for us -- dirty rotten greedy bank raised the rate effective July 28. In the previous 25 years, the effective date has always been August 1.)
The rate has nothing to do with credit history or income level. The rate is the rate. Each bank may have a different rate. Our bank traditionally has a good rate.

The interest rates have risen significantly since last summer.

Richard is annoyed more than ever -- because the Ghiotto's are late -- the interest rates are higher = we pay more.
The house did not appraise as high as we had hoped, thus limiting the amount we can borrow in the form of a mortgage. Foreigners are only allowed to borrow 80% of the appraised value.

We will probably also become like those oh so annoying people who know the fluctuations of the exchange rate on a daily basis because pay is in dollars and mortgage payment is in euro. (Sorry in advance to our friends.)

In the midst of our anger and frustration over all of this . . . we pause to remember that our employer is paying the bulk of the mortgage -- as an added tax-free bonus on top of our salaries. Reality check.