seaside - here's a little 'secret' that I found out when I was a stockbroker. Most of your major stock brokerages sell CD's. They are from banks all over the US.
Here's what I found out about those cd's - they are priced daily and you can sometimes find incredible rates on cd's. The catch is that you have to move fast and take the rate when it's there b/c there's usually a small supply and you will not see them advertised. Sometimes it's just a matter of another client selling a cd early back to the firm and the firm reselling it to you.
It would depend on how much cash you have coming available, but if it's at least $5000, you may want to make a few calls to local brokers and tell them you are looking for rates better than the current average in your area and you are ready to act if they find something.
I didn't do much with cd's for awhile when I was a broker, but after going thru our inventory for some clients, I developed a small base that I would call when a rate came thru that beat the local rates.
Just an idea.
