50 and over. Have you paid off your house?

[Anonymous]

No, actually I lost my house during the recession. I had to sell it. I have my pension and SS and that is all.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely! Years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We paid it off before I started staying at home with my kid 5 years ago. Through aggressive overpayment and our 2 salaries over $150K (plus $70k from our parents), we paid off over $500K in debt in under 5 years.

Awesome, at what age did you do this? Or more specifically what age were your kid(s)?
My current goal is to pay off mortgage and SAH as well within next 3-4 years.

[Anonymous]

No way, man. $2,000/month payment on a 3.625% loan that's about 35% the value of our home? Happy to keep taking the tax deduction and to have liquidity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10 years to payoff. We've been extremely lucky and bought in a desirable area, way before it was desirable so the mortgage is ridiculously low. We've done some renos and refinanced, but the last time we refinanced, we did a 15 year so we are back where we should be. I also double pay the principal every month though my husband is worried what we'll do for tax write offs when we do pay it off. I need to talk to a financial/retirement adviser and see what makes sense.

Your mortgage (i.e. the amount you owe on your loan) is no lower than it would have been regardless of where you bought. Due to buying in a neighborhood that has seen appreciation, what is lower is your "leverage" or loan-to-value, meaning you have more equity.

That was poorly worded. The price we paid was low, so our mortgage payment is low because we didn't pay much for the house. I understand about equity. What I don't understand is what we'll do for deductions on our taxes after we pay off the house in 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Three more years. I am 54 and DH is 59.

[Anonymous]

55 here. Paid off home 3 years ago after mortgage of 7 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:10 years to payoff. We've been extremely lucky and bought in a desirable area, way before it was desirable so the mortgage is ridiculously low. We've done some renos and refinanced, but the last time we refinanced, we did a 15 year so we are back where we should be. I also double pay the principal every month though my husband is worried what we'll do for tax write offs when we do pay it off. I need to talk to a financial/retirement adviser and see what makes sense.

Your mortgage (i.e. the amount you owe on your loan) is no lower than it would have been regardless of where you bought. Due to buying in a neighborhood that has seen appreciation, what is lower is your "leverage" or loan-to-value, meaning you have more equity.

That was poorly worded. The price we paid was low, so our mortgage payment is low because we didn't pay much for the house. I understand about equity. What I don't understand is what we'll do for deductions on our taxes after we pay off the house in 10 years.

You up your charitable deductions and pay through the nose in taxes, like we do.

[Anonymous]

Why do you need to do anything for deductions on taxes? You'll still bring home more money in your pocket when you're not paying interest & deducting it. It's a deduction, not a credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need to do anything for deductions on taxes? You'll still bring home more money in your pocket when you're not paying interest & deducting it. It's a deduction, not a credit.

This.
Well said.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. We paid it off before I started staying at home with my kid 5 years ago. Through aggressive overpayment and our 2 salaries over $150K (plus $70k from our parents), we paid off over $500K in debt in under 5 years.

Awesome, at what age did you do this? Or more specifically what age were your kid(s)?
My current goal is to pay off mortgage and SAH as well within next 3-4 years.

I was about 40 when we finished and our first child was about 1 year old. That last year was hard, but worth it! We had an "interest only" loan which was terrible for some but really allowed us to pay down principal in advance before the penalizing huge payments from later in the mortgage became due.

Best of luck to you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you need to do anything for deductions on taxes? You'll still bring home more money in your pocket when you're not paying interest & deducting it. It's a deduction, not a credit.

Liquidity. If you think you can earn more with that money than it costs you in deductible interest then it's worthwhile to hold on to a mortgage. It can be a little riskier but given how low rates are right now, especially after you factor in the tax deductibility, it's not that hard to beat the rate.

[Anonymous]

I had it paid off then took out a new 30-year fixed mortgage a few years go. I put that balance into my long-term investments (Index funds -- 75% stock, 25% bond). I come out ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No way, man. $2,000/month payment on a 3.625% loan that's about 35% the value of our home? Happy to keep taking the tax deduction and to have liquidity.

Exactly. Our LTV (loan to value) is about 30%...

My money's earning far more than that invested elsewhere and we have ready cash available to pay it off tomorrow if we want, without touching anything we'll need in the long run. When the markets were down I was prepaying the mortgage some (guaranteed 4.875% return then before we refin'd @ 3.625%) but I stopped that a couple of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No way, man. $2,000/month payment on a 3.625% loan that's about 35% the value of our home? Happy to keep taking the tax deduction and to have liquidity.

Exactly. Our LTV (loan to value) is about 30%...

My money's earning far more than that invested elsewhere and we have ready cash available to pay it off tomorrow if we want, without touching anything we'll need in the long run. When the markets were down I was prepaying the mortgage some (guaranteed 4.875% return then before we refin'd @ 3.625%) but I stopped that a couple of years ago.

p.s. forgot to add, I am 60 (retired), DW is 55 working part-time, fwiw ...