I am going to pay off my house in a few days! I am a nervous wreck...

[Exflyboy]

Yes I also got stung with a $100 title transfer fee when I made the last payment.. It pissed me off at the time.

[minimalistgamer]

I wired the money. It cost me $12. I have to let it sink in that next month, I don't have to pay rent!!! I am going to update more in a little bit!

It's too late for this advice, I know.

For others contemplating paying off their mortgage.  Banks sort of insist on a wire transfer when paying the whole thing off, but one technique I've seen is to pay off everything expect $100.  When your mortgage is down to only a small balance, they'll let you pay it off without a wire.

Interesting. Thanks for the information either way. I might use this to pay off my next house! :)

[yachi]

And for those of us still working, its nice to know we could get by on a couple of minimum wage jobs if necessary if the mortgage is paid off. Or - if either of us suddenly died - the surviving spouse would still have a roof over their heads. Yes - life insurance - but that has a cost too.

Or your job security is tenuous at best... Owning the roof over your head gives you the warm and fuzzies...:)

I don't fall for these arguments.  I mean, sure anything can give you the warm and fuzzies.  But you're suggesting that a paid off house provides you more security than the cash required to pay off the house?  Unless your name rhymes with kettle, you can't eat your house: so you need to work a couple of minimum wage jobs if you lose your main job, and your spouse has to maintain a job if you die.  Sure you don't owe a mortgage payment to the bank, but you do owe a property tax payment. 

I think between withdrawals from the 'stache and social security survivor payments my spouse could essentially ER; I have to run the calcs to be sure.  I do know there would be enough to support everyone while raising the kids, and I suspect the same could be said for most Mustachians.  While the stock cash account I'm leaving could pay off 80% of my remaining mortgage, it could also entirely support my spouse & children for 2 years.

[Syonyk]

A paid off house is immune to market fluctuations or crashes, and it's reasonably easy to simply save enough cash to pay for property taxes outright, even if they go up.

Different people value different varieties of optimization differently, and there is no guarantee about markets going forward.

[Exflyboy]

And for those of us still working, its nice to know we could get by on a couple of minimum wage jobs if necessary if the mortgage is paid off. Or - if either of us suddenly died - the surviving spouse would still have a roof over their heads. Yes - life insurance - but that has a cost too.

Or your job security is tenuous at best... Owning the roof over your head gives you the warm and fuzzies...:)

I don't fall for these arguments.  I mean, sure anything can give you the warm and fuzzies.  But you're suggesting that a paid off house provides you more security than the cash required to pay off the house?  Unless your name rhymes with kettle, you can't eat your house: so you need to work a couple of minimum wage jobs if you lose your main job, and your spouse has to maintain a job if you die.  Sure you don't owe a mortgage payment to the bank, but you do owe a property tax payment. 

I think between withdrawals from the 'stache and social security survivor payments my spouse could essentially ER; I have to run the calcs to be sure.  I do know there would be enough to support everyone while raising the kids, and I suspect the same could be said for most Mustachians.  While the stock cash account I'm leaving could pay off 80% of my remaining mortgage, it could also entirely support my spouse & children for 2 years.

No but I am saying that if you have all your savings in your retirement accounts and a big fat mortgage.. You might lose your place where you live.

Its not always about $$ .. It usually is but not always.

Paying my house off literally made me feel comfortable, sure it didn't get me the max $$ but that was the path I chose knowing that was the case.

I am since very comfortably RE'd so in hindsight it made very little difference in my particular case.

[frugalfinancehippy]

Congrats!

I totally understand the worry about not having liquid assets but I imagine having the house paid off will just be a huge relief. We keep too much in cash as is and we know it - just kind of have a mental block about having that safety net just in case.

[Monocle Money Mouth]

Congratulations! I saw this thread on my phone yesterday, but kept forgetting to get on my computer to respond. I'm proud of you.

The peace of mind is worth it. We paid off our house last May as a hedge against any economic uncertainty and we have been saving like crazy since then. If I lost my job, my wife could handle the bills no problem and vice versa. That wouldn't have been realistic if we were still paying our mortgage.

[Metric Mouse]

Congrats!

I totally understand the worry about not having liquid assets but I imagine having the house paid off will just be a huge relief. We keep too much in cash as is and we know it - just kind of have a mental block about having that safety net just in case.

Nothing wrong with doing what makes you feel comfortable.

[nouveauRiche]

Congrats minimalistgamer!

One thing to keep in mind:  If part of your payment was escrow money for homeowner's insurance and/or property taxes, you'll have to take over responsibility for making sure those get paid.  On the upside, you may receive a check for the amount of money they have currently in escrow for you (unless they subtracted it from the payoff amount). 

[CU Tiger]

Congratulations to you!

We paid our house off a few years ago. It feels good to have the mortgage be a thing of the past. We had always contributed to 401k and Rothschild, but now we save and invest so much more.

Our total costs for the taxes, insurance, and utilities is about $450 a month, and we could pay that with a part time job if we lost our current jobs as government contractors. And considering what went on in DC last week, that is not outside the realm of possibility.