How much is your mortgage payment (principal and interest only)?

[Singuy]

0 mortgage but no such thing as a free lunch
995/month for property tax/home insurance, HOA fees(HOA includes cable and 50mbit internet however).

[PhilDanley]

$0 as of August 22, 2014!

[dawnwes]

Various threads have made me wonder how much people are paying for their homes. I realize there are all kinds of factors that enter into that - age, income, location, etc. So I don't want to turn this into any sort of debate on housing prices or income inequality or any of that stuff. Just a straight out list of what we all spend.

So if you're game, please post your monthly principal and interest payment. If you are mortgage free, share your big $0 with us, too.

Our payment is $658.

But how much are your taxes?

[dawnwes]

$0.00 after paying off our 15 year mortgage. The prior loan was $1,128.00 a month at $4.75%.

Living in California, our mortgage was most likely higher then most peoples.

I don't think $1,128 is much at all. You must have purchased prior to 2000.

Our mortgage on our home purchased in 1998 in Pasadena was around $1100 on a 30 year. Purchase price was $142,000. You can't find that or anything close to that anymore. I think the interest rate was around 5.5% at that time.

[creditcardfree]

$0, mortgage free.

However, we don't own a home, we now rent. Our current rent is $1800 per month. This is all temporary until my husband retires in 7 years. We also expect that in about two years we will move and chose a much smaller place to rent, thus less outflow.

[disneysteve]

But how much are your taxes?

That wasn't the question .

Taxes are $613.39/month.

My point in focusing on just principal and interest is that once the loan is paid off, that's how much less you'll be spending each month. You still have to pay taxes. You still have to pay insurance. You still need to spend money for maintenance and repairs.

[corn18]

One thing that I hear brought up a lot is the inflation protection of a mortgage in retirement. I can't figure out what that means. I can't even begin to reconcile that statement. Why would you want a mortgage in retirement?

[disneysteve]

One thing that I hear brought up a lot is the inflation protection of a mortgage in retirement. I can't figure out what that means. I can't even begin to reconcile that statement. Why would you want a mortgage in retirement?

People say a lot of stupid things. Even more common is saying that you should keep your mortgage because of the tax deduction.

[Nutria]

One thing that I hear brought up a lot is the inflation protection of a mortgage in retirement. I can't figure out what that means. I can't even begin to reconcile that statement.

Maybe they mean that your mortgage can't go up, while rent can.

Why would you want a mortgage in retirement?

That, of course, is the $64K question.

[sv2007]

Having no mortgage isn't all that great if you are diverting money from elsewhere that can make better return than your mortgage. Having a mortgage also allows you to refi and tap into your house value at lowest rates.

It's a decision for the owner, and not black and white.

Plus tax deduction is a bonus.

[dawnwes]

That wasn't the question .

Taxes are $613.39/month.

My point in focusing on just principal and interest is that once the loan is paid off, that's how much less you'll be spending each month. You still have to pay taxes. You still have to pay insurance. You still need to spend money for maintenance and repairs.

Ah, got it. I misunderstood.

[Nutria]

Having no mortgage isn't all that great if you are diverting money from elsewhere that can make better return than your mortgage.

Huh?

Having a mortgage also allows you to refi and tap into your house value at lowest rates.

Presumes that someone knows exactly how much money they'll need one time. Or likes continually refinancing.

HELOCs let you borrow only what you need when you need it.

Plus tax deduction is a bonus.

Assumes that the mortgage interest deduction will bump you over the Standard Deduction (which for Married Filing Jointly is $12,600). Even if it is, it's a deduction, not a credit.

[~bs]

That wasn't the question .

Taxes are $613.39/month.

My point in focusing on just principal and interest is that once the loan is paid off, that's how much less you'll be spending each month. You still have to pay taxes. You still have to pay insurance. You still need to spend money for maintenance and repairs.

She's probably asking because of the huge disparity in property taxes from state to state. Of course, that brings in the whole "location" thing that you wanted to avoid. lol But your point is about being a cost you can eliminate is valid.

....and your taxes are high, I pay a little more than that in a year. Of course there are other factors
that probably make my location worse off than yours overall, but now i'm going off on a tangent.

[dawnwes]

People say a lot of stupid things. Even more common is saying that you should keep your mortgage because of the tax deduction.

The saddest thing? Even one of my husband's coworkers said he would keep his mortgage for the tax deduction. He is a CPA!

My husband quickly ran some numbers for him and showed him that the standard deduction still net him the same amount (roughly) in the end.

The other guy was shocked......he should not have been!

[creditcardfree]

The saddest thing? Even one of my husband's coworkers said he would keep his mortgage for the tax deduction. He is a CPA!

My husband quickly ran some numbers for him and showed him that the standard deduction still net him the same amount (roughly) in the end.

The other guy was shocked......he should not have been!

Oh, boy! And he probably advises people to do the same.