house help

[spqrzilla]

Paid off houses are an immense security blanket. No one can throw you out.

However, there are so many foreclosures on the market that no one should buy a house thinking that they will make money in the short term. I think prices will stay flat for some years to come.

[Charley]

Very difficult question to answer. Depends on your income, age, and situation etc.. I would love to have my house paid off, but I would hate to loose it if I couldn't afford to stay here or pay the taxes.

Call the Dave Ramsey show. He'll tell ya what to do.

http://www.daveramsey.com/home/

http://www.daveramsey.com/elp/home/

...

Dave Ramsey? God, he's about the biggest money ***** out there! He's been carried locally for several years, and makes his money from his advertising spots for local businesses. I know several of the companies he advertises for locally, and some are, to put it nicely, not very customer friendly or ethical, IMO. He reminds me of Krusty the Clown..."I heartily endorse this product or service".

As for the house, I would never drop your available resources to zero. You might consider financing locally with a very substantial down payment...something on the order of 50% or so. You can still realize tax savings on the interest paid, your cash flow will be better, and you will have money in reserve if things go sour on you.

Also get a really experienced home inspector to check things out for you. Plumbing, electrical, ventilation and some other problems are not inexpensive to remedy, depending on your locality.

[PatMarlin]

Uh- and what's wrong with making money?

I listen to his show through the week and he seriously helps a lot if people get out of financial trouble and make some pretty sound decisions.

I do realize since the Obama administration, making money has not been popular ...

[Charley]

Uh- and what's wrong with making money?

I listen to his show through the week and he seriously helps a lot if people get out of financial trouble and make some pretty sound decisions.

I do realize since the Obama administration, making money has not been popular ...

Didn't say a word about making money...profits are a building block of our system. I believe he holds himself out as a selfless advocate for true value, and uses it to dupe the unwary. Profits are great, making money is great, but a carnival barker is always a carnival barker, whether the name is Obama or Ramsey.

[PatMarlin]

Dave Ramsey? God, he's about the biggest money ***** out there! He's been carried locally for several years, and makes his money from his advertising spots for local businesses..

Have you actually listened to his show frequently?

Because I have and found what you claim to be completely contradictory from what he stands for and practices through his radio show.

[Charley]

Have you actually listened to his show frequently?

Because I have and found what you claim to be completely contradictory from what he stands for and practices through his radio show.

Yep, have listened to him. That's why I decided his radio spots clash with what he teaches/preaches on air. I'm all for fiscal responsibility, he does have some good advice, although it is mostly stuff any parent who lived thru the 1930s would tell his kids. I draw the line with the personal knowledge I have with some of his local advertisers that he does personalized spots for.

Couple of local "nationaly known" preachers located here with big media operations fall into the same catagory with me. I don't expect anybody, including me, to be perfect. I do expect someone to live up to the standards they hold up for others, though.

Guess we can agree to disagree.

[mold maker]

[QUOTE=spqrzilla;1307705] No one can throw you out.

QUOTE]

I hate to disagree, but if you fail to pay your property tax, Your apt to find out differently.
No matter how much you pay, You never really OWN your home and property. Here the city tells you.
1. how short to cut your grass
2. where you can park
3. what you can keep and where
4. where, If and, what kind of an outbuilding you can have
5. what kind of vehicle you can park in front of the house
6. where you can put a kiddy pool
7. what kind of, and how tall of bushes
You can't even wash your car in the grass, of the front yard, to recycle water.
etc etc etc.
It's never yours, even if paid for, for 50 yr.

[waksupi]

Just because they are paid for, doesn't mean you can't be throwed out. That is why I recommend taking a homestead on your property. In both spouses name. Then they at least have to wait until you die to take it.

[benelliman]

bensonwe: You have received much good advice from fellow castbooliteers. I own a company, M-Power Financial,LLC, that offers a mortgage acceleration plan called The 7 Year MAP. It utilizes a complicated series of calculations that enables the average homeowner to pay off their home loan and other debts in 7 to 9 years! Your spending habits stay the same and there are no drastic changes to your current lifestyle. If any of this is of interest to you, please take a look at my website: www.7yearmap.com. I am available to answer any questions you may have. By utilizing my system, you could take a 30 year note out for your purchase, hold your cash in reserve, and still own your house outright in 7 to 9 years. I hope this is of help to you. Benelliman

[shooterg]

VERY IMPORTANT - if the lot isn't big enough to shoot on, how far is it to the range you use !!

[Char-Gar]

Here are a couple of questions.

How much interest are you making on you savings?
What per cent interest would you be paying on a mortgage?
How the value OT the house in question decreased, increased or stayed the same in the past five years?

If you are making 1.5% simple interest on your savings and would be paying 4% compound on your house and the house is more likely to go up in value than go down in value, the purchase of the home would be a sound investment.

With the decline in the housing market folks are afraid of making a purchase. But it is also a time when you can get a house for much less than you could three to five years ago.

In these uncertain times, I think a house is a better asset than money tucked away that is decreasing in value with each tick of the clock. At least you can live in the home, you can't live in your savings.

In 2008 I had to do something with 100K of my retirement funds. I could invest it, take it as an annuity or pay off my mortgage. At that time an annuity would pay me less than the cost of my house payments so I would make more by not having a house payment. I decided to pay off the mortgage and two weeks after I sent a check to the bank, the market crashed and that money would have been worth only 60K had I left it in as an investments. I made the right choice.

I also plan on staying in the house until I die so it was a good deal for me. If you are planning on selling the house or moving in the next few years, trying your money up in a house that you can't sell may not be a good idea.

There is no black or white answer to your question..it depends!

Here in Texas if you "Homestead" your house, it is taxed at a lower rate, but it is still taxed. If you don't pay your taxes long enough and they will sell your home out from under you. If you are in a bind, you can run "barefoot" and not insure your home with that savings. When you have a mortgage you will be required to carry insurance. Insurance is a good things, but if you own your home, there is no requirement you have it.

[Down South]

This may have already been mentioned but if your savings are in a 401K, your taxes and penalty would range around 30%. That would be a bad idea even if you didn't have other options.
If your savings are in a bank savings account, then that changes the situation. Actually the house would probably be a better investment compared to drawing simple interest on money in savings.
The only problem that I saw is that the price of the house might wipe most of your savings out. Reserve money in the bank is important to me. None of us knows what tomorrow might bring that may cause a need to fall back on those savings.

Property usually is a good investment that yields better profit over the long run.
One example of property verses money in the bank: I bought a lot on a lake for $15,000. I hated to put out that much money on a lot but I did. That was about seven years ago. Those same lots are selling for $50,000+ now.

It is a buyers market for houses right now. Many houses are selling for 30% less or more compared to what they were just a couple years ago.

[Wayne Smith]

We just paid over $700 at the Sears Overstock/Reclimation store for a totally unplanned and unbudgeted washing machine. If you would not be able to do that you shouldn't take the plunge.