Refinancing during an epidemic

Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

Delays in aid for the self-employed

"Most of the 23 million self-employed workers, including gig workers, are still waiting for unemployment benefits," said Rebecca Rainey at Politico. Even with a new program, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, now in place to help the self-employed, fewer than half the states have started making payments. Florida said the self-employed have to reapply for benefits if they first applied before April 4, while New Jer­sey, with 100,000 applications, just started providing assistance last week. Cal­i­for­nia, the state that has treated gig workers most favorably in recent years, opened PUA applications only last week and almost immediately "warned that its program is threatened by its overloaded system," with 190,000 applications in two days.

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Social distancing with servants

The rich are still spending on household staff during the pandemic, said Anna Silman at New York magazine, and often ignoring the risks. One live-in nanny for an "ultrahigh net worth" family moved to an "outrageously large Hamptons house" along with "their outrageously large staff." There's "a sports coach for the kids"; a chef who "goes to the grocery store every day"; "people who come in to do blow-dries a few days a week"; a manicurist; and a personal trainer. Households that are otherwise worried about contagion think their staff doesn't count. A caregiver with an ordinarily "germaphobic" boss says he tells friends "It's just the nanny" when they hear her coughing in the background of a phone call. Wealth often doesn't translate to generosity. One family invited their nanny to bring her grandson to the country — then tried to dock her pay $300 a week for his room and board.

Refinancing during an epidemic

If you're trying to refinance your mortgage as rates hit new lows, you're not alone, said Ron Lieber at The New York Times. To avoid getting jumped in line, "respond immediately" to questions from lenders. Overdocument everything; lenders will "often question income gaps when people have taken parental leave," so come ready with hospital bills and baby pictures. If you're getting an appraisal, a "brief document explaining idiosyncrasies" that could affect the value of your home is handy. Lastly, realize that "things may take longer than the lenders say." Keep "every shred of proof" that you were responsive throughout the process, so they don't accuse you of causing a delay and charge you a fee.

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