House Mortgage -- Countdown

[markr867]

October 2017
Mortgage payment: #6 of 350
Extra applied to principal: $256.96
Ending balance: $297,245.43

Another month shaved off. We have now taken off 10 payments in only 6 months.

[dbow2000]

Started - Mar 2017: $25k

Sep 2017 - paid $1262

Current bal: $16895

[Gailete]

Penultimate mortgage payment just sent.

Congrats, I want mine done in the next 5 years which will take some work, but I want them paid off before hubby's term life insurance runs out since they would never cover him again.

[Nutria]

Congrats. Will you coordinate the final payment amount with them ahead of time?

Yup, to validate that we both have the same numbers.

[Jluke]

Penultimate mortgage payment just sent.

Congrats. Will you coordinate the final payment amount with them ahead of time?

[Nutria]

Penultimate mortgage payment just sent.

[tripods68]

$448,187.46 with 349 months of payments left. Woohoo!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I have 358 payments remaining. I have 99.56% remaining. I have 27.25% in taxable accounts to pay it off. At least I'm trying to own my home.

[scfr]

You could use percentages, or months remaining, or some other figure. It's not always necessary to use dollar amounts.

I just remembered the guy who showed his mortgage payoff by drawing an outline of his house's floorplan on graph paper. He shaded in squares to represent the amount of his mortgage that was paid off. That was such a cool way to visualize it!

[scfr]

We have made two mortgage payments. I am debating writing what I owe here because it's insane and I'm embarrassed.

You could use percentages, or months remaining, or some other figure. It's not always necessary to use dollar amounts.

[scfr]

Looking at $100-120k for the mountain house. Refinancing our existing house would move our mortgage balance from $80k back up to $180-$200k with a house value of approximate $300k. Payment would actually go down if refinanced to another 30 year mortgage. I would still aggressively pay down to make it a maximum of a 15 year putting me at the age of 52 with two paid for houses.

First of all, in your shoes YES, I'd go ahead and buy the mountain house now. You seem like a frugal person who has a handle on their finances, so get that quality time with the kids now. Personally I'd lean towards a 20-year mortgage, and still aim to have it paid off in 15. Speaking as one who is a bit "north" of the 52 age that you mention, it is an age where things start to get a bit dicier (harder to find new work if you are laid off, health problems may start to creep in, etc.), so owning both homes outright by that age is a good plan. Also, I'm sure you've already thought of this, but I'd be looking for a smaller house that would be a good size for just the two of you to use when the kids are grown and gone.

[greenskeeper]

Looking at $100-120k for the mountain house. Refinancing our existing house would move our mortgage balance from $80k back up to $180-$200k with a house value of approximate $300k. Payment would actually go down if refinanced to another 30 year mortgage. I would still aggressively pay down to make it a maximum of a 15 year putting me at the age of 52 with two paid for houses.

[james.hendrickson]

We have made two mortgage payments. I am debating writing what I owe here because it's insane and I'm embarrassed.

Greenskeeper if the mountain house is something that you've considered a lot and weighed all pros and cons I'd do it. You aren't on here talking crazy. I would guess you've discussed with your wife your lifestyle and I'm with her. The kids aren't getting any younger.

DH and I discussed it once but decided we aren't vacation home people. We are however discussing buying a second condo in hawaii because my parents live there and my mom needs some cash flow. But it's a different reason entirely.

For you I'd look at it as a lifestyle choice. NOT a financial one. You can always fix financials.

Living, its cool to share that kind of information here - you might get some good pointers for better managing the debt if you're not feeling so hot about it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

We have made two mortgage payments. I am debating writing what I owe here because it's insane and I'm embarrassed.

Greenskeeper if the mountain house is something that you've considered a lot and weighed all pros and cons I'd do it. You aren't on here talking crazy. I would guess you've discussed with your wife your lifestyle and I'm with her. The kids aren't getting any younger.

DH and I discussed it once but decided we aren't vacation home people. We are however discussing buying a second condo in hawaii because my parents live there and my mom needs some cash flow. But it's a different reason entirely.

For you I'd look at it as a lifestyle choice. NOT a financial one. You can always fix financials.

[Randomsaver]

So it begins.

Mortgage Principal : $69K

Mortgage Principal : $68K