Free at last!

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Libertarian666
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Free at last!

Post by Libertarian666 » Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:43 am

Mortgage paid off!

So now I own my house free and clear... except for real estate taxes, of course. :P
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mathjak107
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Re: Free at last!

Post by mathjak107 » Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:50 am

it's funny , we were just talking about the fact the mortgages are gone today . i used to be a pro drummer many decades ago . i hooked up with the guys i was with 37 years ago on face book . we hit the studio for the first time in decades recently ..

but what i wanted to say was ,we were talking about how when we all bought homes back in the 1970's they were 35k in long island . that was a lot of money to owe and to pay in a mortgage back then , rent was soooooo much cheaper .

well today that 30 year mortgage is long gone but the affordability factor is barely helped . taxes run 12-15k a year . so the fact a 30k mortgage was paid off , in the scheme of things really did not make things any more affordable as far as retiring in long island . that mortgage payment today that is gone does not even represent a utility bill dollar wise .

on the other hand if you are going to sell that nice expensive long island home today and relocate it can be a windfall .

don't forget your social security in a high cost of living area can be pretty high because of higher salary's .

a 600k house that appreciated 3% a year is a whole lot more than a 200k house that appreciated the same so transplants tend to do much better than locals in cheapsville if they relocate .

.
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dualstow
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Re: Free at last!

Post by dualstow » Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:41 pm

Congrats, Libertarian666.

I'm sure it feels good.
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moda0306
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Re: Free at last!

Post by moda0306 » Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:44 pm

Congrats!

But don't forget utilities and insurance, too. :)

Or are you going to self-insure now?
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dualstow
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Re: Free at last!

Post by dualstow » Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:49 pm

My guess is that tech hasn't forgotten any of these expenses like maintenance or utilities, but mentioned the taxes because it feels like the government owns the house, in a way. I'm just guessing.

What I can't figure out is how mathjak thinks facebook existed 37 years ago. ???
(I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I parsed it).
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Mountaineer
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Re: Free at last!

Post by Mountaineer » Sat Mar 25, 2017 4:55 pm

Libertarian666 wrote:Mortgage paid off!

So now I own my house free and clear... except for real estate taxes, of course. :P
Congratulations! Well done my internet friend.

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Libertarian666
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Re: Free at last!

Post by Libertarian666 » Sat Mar 25, 2017 7:17 pm

Mountaineer wrote:
Libertarian666 wrote:Mortgage paid off!

So now I own my house free and clear... except for real estate taxes, of course. :P
Congratulations! Well done my internet friend.

O0
Thanks!

And of course I'm not dropping my insurance and will still have to pay maintenance costs.

I'm also fortunate to live in a relatively low-tax area, and have had the school tax frozen due to being old enough for that. I actually get something useful for the rest of my property taxes, so even though they are still theft, the theft isn't quite as painful. :P
WiseOne
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Re: Free at last!

Post by WiseOne » Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:55 am

Congratulations Libertarian666! Most of the advice you hear now is to hang on to a low interest rate mortgage and invest the money instead, but this is really no match for the feeling of getting a debt wiped out.

A while back, I was thinking of implementing a scheme to "pay down" the mortgage by putting the extra-payment money into long term municipal bonds. The bond interest would pay more than I'd benefit by paying down mortgage principle (due to the tax benefit). Eventually I'd either sell the bonds and pay off the mortgage, or let the bonds mature and do the same thing. Way too complicated though, not to mention risky.
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mathjak107
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Re: Free at last!

Post by mathjak107 » Sun Mar 26, 2017 10:01 am

potential tax rate cuts could make muni's less desirable .
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Re: Free at last!

Post by Libertarian666 » Sun Mar 26, 2017 11:35 am

WiseOne wrote:Congratulations Libertarian666! Most of the advice you hear now is to hang on to a low interest rate mortgage and invest the money instead, but this is really no match for the feeling of getting a debt wiped out.

A while back, I was thinking of implementing a scheme to "pay down" the mortgage by putting the extra-payment money into long term municipal bonds. The bond interest would pay more than I'd benefit by paying down mortgage principle (due to the tax benefit). Eventually I'd either sell the bonds and pay off the mortgage, or let the bonds mature and do the same thing. Way too complicated though, not to mention risky.
Thanks!

BTW, besides the complexity and risk, the tax benefit in your scheme only exists if you have a lot of itemized deductions. I don't, living in a low-tax state as I do.
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Re: Free at last!

Post by Maddy » Sun Mar 26, 2017 12:48 pm

Congratulations! Isn't that the best feeling in the world?

I bought my first house when I was in my early twenties (a veritable shack; no down payment, no closing costs), and when the interest rate was 13%. I was young and didn't know squat about managing money, but I was fortunate to have an older neighbor who advised me to get a hold of an amortization schedule. It took me a few hours of pondering over the 360-line document to realize why it would be financially devastating, over time, to make no more than the assigned monthly payment. Over the next few years, I made a game out of making a few extra principal payments each month (which were tiny at the beginning and therefore not difficult at all to make) while crossing off the corresponding line item on the amortization schedule. It was just jaw-dropping how quickly I began ripping through the 360 payments, watching the proportion of each payment allocated to interest shift over to principal, and reducing the term of my loan by leaps and bounds. Needless to say, the loan was paid off early, and it was one of the happiest days of my life when I was free and clear.
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Mark Leavy
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Re: Free at last!

Post by Mark Leavy » Mon Mar 27, 2017 12:43 am

Outstanding, Tech!

A sincere congratulations. While you still have expenses (obviously) there is a fundamental mental shift when you "pay as you go" versus carrying debt. I'm sure you of all people have a full grasp of that. Bon Voyage!

Mark
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