House Mortgage -- Countdown

[james.hendrickson]

Guys - principle left to tackle => $293,379.40.

[Randomsaver]

Thanks so much James. There is peace I find in owning properties especially in these kinds of markets. I have 1 more property I like to invest into though -- a house on an island.

Enjoying beach lifestyle.

Properties piling up.

[Randomsaver]

Hi guys, just dropping by to say hi!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yay congrats! Okay I'm ready to admit we broke mental barrier this month. We paid off 31% of our house so 11% in 6 years.

[disneysteve]

I feel those of us with mortgage rates say 4% or less have reached a new phase where paying extra on the mortgage is not the best choice.

I feel less urgency to pay extra on my mortgage. 150k at 3.125% with 17 years left

That makes sense. My Vanguard settlement account is paying 5.27%. We don't have a mortgage anymore but if we did, it wouldn't make sense to pull money out from that to pay down a 3% mortgage.

[Jluke]

I feel those of us with mortgage rates say 4% or less have reached a new phase where paying extra on the mortgage is not the best choice. new mortgages are hitting 7% and money markets / CDs etc are at 4% or more. Still nowhere near the past where mortgage rates were double digits but we haven’t been in this environment for at least 20 years.

seems like the days of cheap money are paused for now so if I need to buy a car or take a student loan because I used my extra money towards the mortgage, then I’ll be paying a higher rate to borrow that future money for cars, education etc.

I feel less urgency to pay extra on my mortgage. 150k at 3.125% with 17 years left

[james.hendrickson]

Happy to see all these pay offs and progress towards pay off.
It's truly a great feeling to have a paid for home.

Thanks Fishindude, its good to see it under 300,000. Next stop 280k!

[Fishindude77]

Happy to see all these pay offs and progress towards pay off.
It's truly a great feeling to have a paid for home.

[james.hendrickson]

Guys, principle still to pay down: $299,501.07

[skives]

Huge accomplishment, congratulations!!! Does the lawn feel different under your toes?

I will say that when we paid ours off, it was a massive feeling of relief & security. You just stabilized probably the biggest single drain on your budget... Now you have nothing but breathing room! Seriously, congratulations. I hope you find some way to celebrate.

It is a huge relief to have it paid off. Now we can pretty much do what we want with our free time or even change jobs if we wanted to.

Unfortunately our lawn sucks. Mostly dirt and weeds. I always say it looks like a sixteen year-old boys face with acne lol!!!

thanks

[kork13]

Officially paid off our mortgage. Sent payoff in last Wednesday and I believe it went through yesterday as my online banking account doesn’t show the loan account anymore. I believe a payoff letter is coming in the mail today. Took us 6 years 10 months and 22 days to pay it off.

Huge accomplishment, congratulations!!! Does the lawn feel different under your toes?

I will say that when we paid ours off, it was a massive feeling of relief & security. You just stabilized probably the biggest single drain on your budget... Now you have nothing but breathing room! Seriously, congratulations. I hope you find some way to celebrate.

[skives]

Officially paid off our mortgage. Sent payoff in last Wednesday and I believe it went through yesterday as my online banking account doesn’t show the loan account anymore. I believe a payoff letter is coming in the mail today. Took us 6 years 10 months and 22 days to pay it off.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

When I hear this argument, that buying a house is like paying yourself rent, I always argue the opposite -- a mortgage is like paying the bank rent. The money spent on interest & fees are lost to you, just like rent on an apartment is. On top of the interest payments, annual mx/repairs/insurance/taxes add to your equivalent "rent" payment, paid to the county, contractors, the insurance company, etc. -- this money is again lost to you, and would mostly not be your responsibility as a renter (at least, not directly).

I'm not discounting the value of forced wealth accumulation through building home equity over time .... But in the romance of being a homeowner, people often forget that there's alot of costs that goes along with homeownership. I'm many cases, renting truly is cheaper (net of all those factors) ... Though other (less-quantifiable) socioeconomic factors also play into things. So as with most issues, "it depends."

Yes and No. Where we've lived our interest on our homes has always been less than renting. Current interest on my house is $1300 a month. Property taxes about $1300/month. That is $2600 a month. That rents me a 2 bd apartment, not a 3 bedroom house, which across the street rents for around $4500. But i like where i live. When we moved in the rent in 2017 same house across the street was $3600, so it hasn't gone up a ton in 6 years. But it still was more expensive than buying our place.

When we moved in we were renting in a substantially cheaper area for $2400 so yes we were "paying" more, and then when we moved in our principal paydown was that principal savings. But our interest and property taxes was close to or a little less than renting. Yes I have to pay for maintenance, but our home value in 6 years doubled. My neighbors sold for just about 2x what I bought for last month cash multiple bids. I don't count it but I could the excess home equity.

The home equity where we live funds many people's retirements.

[Fishindude77]

I'm not discounting the value of forced wealth accumulation through building home equity over time .... But in the romance of being a homeowner, people often forget that there's alot of costs that goes along with homeownership. I'm many cases, renting truly is cheaper (net of all those factors) ... Though other (less-quantifiable) socioeconomic factors also play into things. So as with most issues, "it depends."

Truth spoken here. I'd venture that it is almost always much more costly to own than rent. Sure, you can often have a mortgage payment a bit less than what you can rent a decent place for, but that's where the savings end.
First time buyers often do not consider things like taxes, insurance, upkeep, major item (roof, furnance, etc.) replacement, upkeep tools and equipment needed, cost of furnishings, etc.

If you have the ability and resources to do your own upkeep and maintenance on a home vs hiring things out, it can make owning much more palatable.

[kork13]

Also I realized I am paying $21k a year in principal which is a lot of "enforced" savings. That's why homes grow wealth, we are forced to save $21k a year in "rent". I would be paying the same in rent but none of it would be going back to me. My interest for last year was $16.5k so i pay more in principal than interest as well.

When I hear this argument, that buying a house is like paying yourself rent, I always argue the opposite -- a mortgage is like paying the bank rent. The money spent on interest & fees are lost to you, just like rent on an apartment is. On top of the interest payments, annual mx/repairs/insurance/taxes add to your equivalent "rent" payment, paid to the county, contractors, the insurance company, etc. -- this money is again lost to you, and would mostly not be your responsibility as a renter (at least, not directly).

I'm not discounting the value of forced wealth accumulation through building home equity over time .... But in the romance of being a homeowner, people often forget that there's alot of costs that goes along with homeownership. I'm many cases, renting truly is cheaper (net of all those factors) ... Though other (less-quantifiable) socioeconomic factors also play into things. So as with most issues, "it depends."