No Mortgage!
 

I just sent off my final mortgage payment! It took me 7.5 years of putting all of my extra money on it, but now my only debt is a 0% car loan. Even with my semipathological aversion to debt, I can't see myself paying that one off early.

Of course, I suddenly don't have that hefty tax deduction...

good for you HM. now you need to turn around and get a hefty HELOC for a safety net. you can keep a zero balance on it, thus maintaining your debt free lifestyle while still keeping access to what is most likely your largest asset.

Awesome job on the mortgage! If I might suggest though, if you have a 0% auto loan...milk that one for all its worth. Basically think of that as free money, and even in a basic savings account earning 1%, you've got a net benefit for yourself. Basically by paying it off now, you would be loosing money (even if it feels like you would be saving money)

Good job HM!
:jig: :celebrat: :thumbsup:

Thanks all!
Interesting. I'll look into that. A one-time $1000 (or so) fee for a decade or two of hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-worth of credit sounds like a deal (if I understand my quick Googling correctly).
Yeah, the only money I'd be saving is stamps. I'll be bumping up my 401k instead.

Dude, that is *awesome*. Congratulations on being disciplined enough to enhance your personal security to such a great degree. I am totally impressed.

Way to go HM, great feeling isn't it?

I had about a dozen years to go when I refinanced, upping the payment and reducing the term, then basically forgot about it.
One day a letter arrives saying the payment was X instead of Y.
WTF.... I call the bank ready to raise hell and was calmly informed the payment changed because it was the last one.
Doh. :o

Heh, that's what I was expecting to get. Instead, I got this three-page document printed in courier on onion paper saying to mail the final payment and some additional documentation to a different address than usual, and a prepaid envelope! Apparently the final payment is a completely different department!

Merry <insert winter holiday of your preference here>

You just bought yerself a house!

Congratulations - hard work with a good and profitable reward.

K

Yeah, nice present to yourself.

Congrats, HM! And even more congrats on keeping the same lifestyle and bumping up the 401K with the extra money. Your self-discipline is admirable.

Now, I never said I wouldn't buy myself a snazzy new computer!

Once I recover from my final push and the holiday season, of course. My liquid assets are gonna be pretty low for a while...

Wow! I am so totally impressed :eek: Good for you!

Congrats, HM! Now, maybe you can look into that vacation property you always wanted... The tax deduction is great, and the real estate market still has upside, if you choose wisely.

Awesome job, HM. I think lookout's suggestion is a very good one. Typically, you have to pay mortgage tax on the amount of the credit line at closing as though you were taking out the entire amount. I'd bite the bullet and get a line for as much as you can. Nothing like tax-free debt.

mortgage tax? what the heck is that?

Nice goin HM. :)

3 years ago my Aunt died and left me the money to pay off my mortgage however "she who must be obeyed" decided we needed to move nearer her mothers and now we have a mortgage again **sigh** .

how long was the term initially? oh, and holy shit. i hate you.

HM, my heartiest congratulations.

Please don't let the rank odor of JEALOUSY diminish my good wishes. I'm really. very. happy. for. you.

HELoC, a big yes. $1000, no freakin way. You really, really want to get the to a nunnery, assuming the nearest one is located in a CREDIT UNION!! You know, where you own the joint, or at least a piece of it instead of a bank? Seriously. My HOLoC was $79, a "reconveyance fee". Do not pay $1000. You're waywayway smarter than that.

Oh, and you're right to dally wrt the 0% loans. Free money indeed.

Way to go!!

30 years. I was lucky enough to buy before prices ballooned. Though at the time I thought it was a lot of money...Thanks! I got the $1000 number from a random website when I googled the term. If I get one, I'll put a bit more research into it.

You cut a 30 term mortgage to 7.5? That's some going! Congrats are surely due.

Wow!!! I am seriously impressed. That must have took some serious discipline on your part! Congradulations!!

Good work HM! Can't wait till i can post a thread like this one. :)

Good show, you're doing better than I am.

bigV you pay the piper somewhere. either in fees or money hidden in the back end. you're better off "paying more" with a good mortgage professional who will disclose it all. your fees should depend on the size of the loan. anybody who offers a different program is taking an undisclosed amount on the back.

Thanks! If you start early, it's a lot easier. An extra dollar on the first payment at my interest rate was the equivalent of almost seven dollars on the last. So, an extra payment on the first year was (roughly) equivalent to taking 5-7 payments off the loan. I managed a bit more than that, obviously, but the principle remains (or dwindles, as the case may be).

Congratulations!! Very impressive.

Congradulations. We're looking to move with an eye to taking advantage of the bubble to reduce our payment. It's quite refreshing.

I came into some capital last month and when deciding what debt to get rid of decided to pay off my student loans. Mostly because I'd figured the total owning was low enough that it was worth getting rid of the hassle of maintaining the auto withdrawl from an account I don't really use any more.

Anyways I call up my bank to arrange for payment and find out the amount owning and it's:

$13.71

My regular payment this month would have covered it easily. Oh well, at least I can brag that I paid off my loan early by a whole three weeks.

Hee! At least you now can apply that capital to something else, now!

Congratulations mitheral, if life only had more surprises like that one.:D