House is paid off!!!

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johnoutk
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House is paid off!!!

Post by johnoutk »

Longtime member that isn't around as much as I used to be. But I do check in and wanted to say that we just paid off our house! Feels great! I don't want to get into all the details or the 'should we have paid it off' discussion, but I will say that we paid off our 30 year loan in 7.5 years, and that I my wife and I are under 40. We initially paid it down to get rid of the PMI and then just kept going. Such a good feeling... :D
arma
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by arma »

Congratulations !! :sharebeer
Scientia potentia est
Malachi
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Malachi »

Awesome.

:thumbsup :thumbsup
InvestoGuy
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by InvestoGuy »

Fantastic achievement. I recently reduced my 30 yr to a 15 yr and got about 13 more years left on it. I just can't wait for that day to arrive for me. Hope it does soon. Good luck.
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greg24
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by greg24 »

Congrats!
Mrxyz
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Mrxyz »

Congratulations! You are on your way to be debt free. BTW, I have reduced my mortgage interest rate to 1.99% by using HEL from PenFed and will pay off mortgage in 5 years for sure, perhaps earlier. Thanks to everyone on the forum.
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6miths
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by 6miths »

Congrats! Feels great!
'It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so!' Mark Twain
khh
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by khh »

Welcome to the club! It really felt odd for a while not to have a mortgage payment each month. It was a good kind of odd, though. :)
uslee2004
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by uslee2004 »

Congrats.

We passed that point last year with our townhouse. It sure helps a lot in cash flow.
uslee
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bottlecap
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by bottlecap »

Great job! Congrats!
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FabLab
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by FabLab »

Nicely done!
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paulsiu
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by paulsiu »

You're my hero!

Paul
destinationnc
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by destinationnc »

Cheers!
yolli71
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by yolli71 »

Congrats...that sure must feel nice! I'm working on doing the same...have 9.5 years left on my mortgage but am trying to accelerate it.
bungalow10
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by bungalow10 »

Congrats! I hope to join you in 4-6 years :)
An elephant for a dime is only a good deal if you need an elephant and have a dime.
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HomerJ
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by HomerJ »

Well done!
Greenie
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Greenie »

Congratulations!! Paid ours off two years ago. A lot of things can go wrong but knowing that you have that covered if very liberating.
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JupiterJones
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by JupiterJones »

That's fantastic! Congrats!

:sharebeer

JJ
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touchdowntodd
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by touchdowntodd »

im 4 years and 1 month at my current pace away from knowing that feeling

CONGRATS!

while lots of people argue that its not wise financially because of the low rates today, the security for me far outweighs the disadvantages ....

:sharebeer
tryin to do this right... thanks guys
HarryD
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by HarryD »

I'm right behind you. Just 29 years left on my mortgage and two college educations to go....

HD
ResNullius
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by ResNullius »

Great job! There's no feeling quite like knowing that your house is paid in full. I know a lot of folks don't agree, but I thinking paying off early was the best thing my wife and I ever did (financially speaking, that is), so congratulations.
DTSC
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by DTSC »

Wow. Well done! I am jealous!
Sam I Am
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Sam I Am »

Message deleted.
Last edited by Sam I Am on Tue Oct 08, 2013 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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mmmodem
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by mmmodem »

Congratulations! I'm nipping at your heels. With any luck, I'll be making the same post half a decade or so from now. I'm only 1 year into my 30 year debt. Midlife crisis is looming ahead and it would be awesome to indulge in whatever I fancy without a mortgage.
twinsdad
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by twinsdad »

Did the same just last month. The feeling is liberating. I also cashed in a Whole Life Policy for face value, my paid off house plus my term life policy is more than enough for my wife and kids should I die today. Value of the whole life policy after paying for 8 years was negative yield, understand that there was value in the death policy. I am now certain with Asset Allocation and Boglehead principles that I can do better than the insurance company. Not having a mortgage now allows me to do things like a serial backdoor Roth IRA conversion every year beyond my max 401 K contributions. Finally, feel like I am n a solid path toward retirement.
cyfan
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by cyfan »

Special congrats for accomplishing this before age 40 as I am sure it took most of us longer to do this. I was early 50s before getting this done. You will be glad that you ignored those who say never to pay your house off early. You can't put a price on the freedom that comes with retiring debt and being able to make life choices that do not always require you to chase the top dollar.
Default User BR
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Default User BR »

I'll be paying off shortly, but only as a first step before taking a 5-year HEL from Penfed (1.99% fixed). Something to do next week while I'm on vacation.



Brian
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ryuns
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by ryuns »

HarryD wrote:I'm right behind you. Just 29 years left on my mortgage and two college educations to go....

HD
Haha me too. Actually, interest rates have gone down enough that we're going to refi from our current 30 year with 29 years left, to a new 30 year!
An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered. -- GK Chesterton
leod
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by leod »

congratulations, enjoy you new debt free lifestyle :beer
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Sheepdog
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Sheepdog »

WOW. I wasn't mortgage free until I was 56.
Wonderful for you.
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ruralavalon
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by ruralavalon »

Congratulations :D . Mortgage-free feels great, doesn't it?
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bru
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by bru »

Congratulations.

I did the same a few years north of age 40. Having no mortgage saved my butt when the recession hit us hard.
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ebeard
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by ebeard »

Awesome! Hopefully I'll be there in 7 years.
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Nestegg_User
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Nestegg_User »

Welcome to the club !
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abuss368
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by abuss368 »

That is awesome.

Congrats!
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ResNullius
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by ResNullius »

Hey, it's hard to be underwater when you don't have a mortgage.
muhtar1938
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by muhtar1938 »

Congratulations! Enjoy the freedom, and the extra cash.

I hope it is not bad manners to mention that we, too, just paid off our mortgage, although "congratulations" in our case is a mixed blessing. Our home has been on the market at a reasonable price for almost two years; homes are just not moving in the area. We have a dream area nearby we want to move to, but home after home we liked has been bought, while ours still stayed for sale. So we paid off our mortgage and will close on the new home at the end of this month. We'd appreciate any information form our group on how best to handle this situation.

We've nixed renting because of the hassle involved in having difficult tenants. The taxes and insurance are not a problem economically. Also, given the low mortgage rates recently, our new mortgage is a tad cheaper than our old one. So no economic stress. The sale of our old home will be pure profit, although we'll probably get a good deal less then the purchase price when it sells.

Fortunately, our real estate agent is a friend and lives across the street from our old home. Also, the new area we're settling in is only about eight minutes away (so we can keep an eye on the old homestead), although it might just be 800 miles way in terms of it's location and neighbors.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how best to handle this situation? Anything we might not be considering, and should?

Thanks,
Muhtar
af895
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by af895 »

johnoutk wrote:...we paid off our 30 year loan in 7.5 years, and that I my wife and I are under 40...
Mortgage burning party time. (pot luck, or course) Way to go. :)
ragabnh
Posts: 157
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by ragabnh »

Congratulations for this big achievment, I am 56 years old and still have mortgage going, but I should be done within 4 month, I am sure at your age it should feel fantastic. :sharebeer
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HardKnocker
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by HardKnocker »

I salute you! Well done. :beer
“Gold gets dug out of the ground, then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility.”--Warren Buffett
letsgobobby
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by letsgobobby »

muhtar1938 wrote:Congratulations! Enjoy the freedom, and the extra cash.

I hope it is not bad manners to mention that we, too, just paid off our mortgage, although "congratulations" in our case is a mixed blessing. Our home has been on the market at a reasonable price for almost two years; homes are just not moving in the area. We have a dream area nearby we want to move to, but home after home we liked has been bought, while ours still stayed for sale. So we paid off our mortgage and will close on the new home at the end of this month. We'd appreciate any information form our group on how best to handle this situation.

We've nixed renting because of the hassle involved in having difficult tenants. The taxes and insurance are not a problem economically. Also, given the low mortgage rates recently, our new mortgage is a tad cheaper than our old one. So no economic stress. The sale of our old home will be pure profit, although we'll probably get a good deal less then the purchase price when it sells.

Fortunately, our real estate agent is a friend and lives across the street from our old home. Also, the new area we're settling in is only about eight minutes away (so we can keep an eye on the old homestead), although it might just be 800 miles way in terms of it's location and neighbors.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how best to handle this situation? Anything we might not be considering, and should?

Thanks,
Muhtar
We just sold our previous house after 6 months of having 2 mortgages. It was on the market for 3 weeks, got a fair offer, and then took about 3 months to close. And this is in a terrible, terrible local economy and housing market (60% of homes are distressed sales, and unemployment is 12%). What a relief. Not that we couldn't afford the payments, but what a drag having an old house in an old city in the old neighborhood just 'hanging around.'

The key is to really meet the market where it is. You say the price is reasonable, but the market says otherwise. We decided it was worth it to sell quickly. For instance, we bought in 2003 at $232k. Added a gorgeous $35k kitchen with all the bells/whistles in 2007. New roof. Thousands in cleaning, painting, and landscaping in anticipation of the sale. And ended up selling for only $224k once you count our credit toward closing costs. I never, ever would have thought we would be selling at that price, but that is what the market dictated. We did a thorough analysis of the market and listed at a price we felt would attract a buyer quickly, and it worked.

I'm almost afraid that because you don't have a mortgage payment, you will feel less urgency to sell. While you no longer have interest costs, you have maintenance, taxes, insurance, upkeep, opportunity cost, etc. If you're not going to rent, lower the price *now* and git it sold.

My 2 cents.

Sorry for the threadjack OP - congratulations.
reggiesimpson
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by reggiesimpson »

I have never had a mortgage in my life (owned 3 houses). Why? Just didnt make sense.
Amishman
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Amishman »

Smart Move! You will never regret it.
muhtar1938
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by muhtar1938 »

Dear Let's Go Boddy:

I think I needed to hear what you had to say. We match up almost perfectly. Tons of great improvements, lovely home with everything you'd want, but this just isn't the time. We need just to see the reality of the marketplace, take the loss, and price our house accordingly. Thanks for passing along just what I needed to hear.

Best,
Muhtar
letsgobobby
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by letsgobobby »

muhtar1938 wrote:Dear Let's Go Boddy:

I think I needed to hear what you had to say. We match up almost perfectly. Tons of great improvements, lovely home with everything you'd want, but this just isn't the time. We need just to see the reality of the marketplace, take the loss, and price our house accordingly. Thanks for passing along just what I needed to hear.

Best,
Muhtar
Good luck with your decision,
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johnoutk
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by johnoutk »

Many thanks for all the congratulations. I looked at our mortgage printoff and saw that our principal would have been $241K this month if we hadn't made any extra payments! What a good feeling!
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Toons
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by Toons »

johnoutk wrote:Many thanks for all the congratulations. I looked at our mortgage printoff and saw that our principal would have been $241K this month if we hadn't made any extra payments! What a good feeling!
Excellent job!
Now allocate some of that "monthly mortgage payment" you were making to a Vanguard mutual fund of your choice :D :D
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
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johnoutk
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by johnoutk »

Toons wrote:
johnoutk wrote:Many thanks for all the congratulations. I looked at our mortgage printoff and saw that our principal would have been $241K this month if we hadn't made any extra payments! What a good feeling!
Excellent job!
Now allocate some of that "monthly mortgage payment" you were making to a Vanguard mutual fund of your choice :D :D

Being a Boglehead, I would do it no other way!!! :wink:
robocop
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Re: House is paid off!!!

Post by robocop »

Thanks for sharing your joy and congrats!! Stories like yours help keep me focused on paying off my (student loan) debt.
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