Author Topic: Mortgage Payoff Club!!  (Read 1076422 times)

Neustache

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1100 on: January 18, 2017, 06:45:27 AM »
Trifele - I think KBecks is around that balance as well.  I'm shooting for sometime in 2018 as our payoff...maybe sooner if we sell our rental. 


KBecks

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1101 on: January 18, 2017, 07:05:30 AM »
I have the money to pay off the house...

I am not sure if I should go for it. It scares me for some reason...

If you don't like having it paid off, you could take a HELOC. :)

minimalistgamer

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1102 on: January 19, 2017, 06:33:20 AM »
I have the money to pay off the house...

I am not sure if I should go for it. It scares me for some reason...

If you don't like having it paid off, you could take a HELOC. :)

Haha! I definitely like having it paid off :p I have to break a CD to do so...I don't know why I am shying away from it. Perhaps someone needs to talk me into it. I don't know. I definitely do not want to make banks richer :p

KBecks

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1103 on: January 19, 2017, 07:46:02 AM »
Trifele - I think KBecks is around that balance as well.  I'm shooting for sometime in 2018 as our payoff...maybe sooner if we sell our rental.

We're around $82, and working it down bit by bit.  I see a few people who are in the same general area, and that's fun!

farmecologist

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1104 on: January 19, 2017, 08:11:44 AM »
Did it! Took some available cash and paid off the mortgage!  Personal banker had no idea what to do.  She had never seen this before.  Can't wait to see our investments build like crazy now.

Congratulations!  I did the same at the end of October--nearly drained the emergency fund, but it's almost rebounded and I can't describe the feeling of being completely debt free.  I appreciate that there's dissenting opinion on the wisdom of this, but I don't regret paying that sucker off for one minute.

Congrats!

Dissenting opinion is an understatement.  There are many on the boards that will berate you in a patronizing manner if you even mention paying off the mortgage.  At least this thread is a somewhat 'safe' area to talk about it.


KBecks

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1105 on: January 19, 2017, 12:46:32 PM »
This month we're putting on an extra $1,800, not a ton but it's still progress.  It will move us into the 70s, with a new balance of roughly $79,960.

I find it motivating to try and get down to lower numbers, so getting out of the 80's was motivating.  Next I'll look at $75, how quick we can get that, etc. etc. etc.

SwordGuy

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1106 on: January 20, 2017, 10:47:47 AM »
So we walked in to our CU on Saturday and sent off the death blow via wire transfer.  I still don't trust the mortgage company to acknowledge receipt of the transfer nor apply it correctly to our account as they have yet to do anything correctly in the two years since they bought our mortgage, so I'm waiting until Wednesday and then giving them a call. 

On the other hand, it feels awesomely freeing to have no debt to anyone in the world.

For those in a similar situation, wait a month or two and then check with your county register of deeds to make sure the mortgage lien has been cleared.

Oh, heck.  Everybody do it.  It's best to double-check.

frugalkristen

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1107 on: January 20, 2017, 06:19:51 PM »
I won't be able to pay it of as fast as everyone else has here.  My income limits me but I have about $36,000 in cash right now.  I'm maxing my Roth then putting some money toward the mortgage.  I'll add a little extra every month.  I'm hoping to put about $15,000 extra toward paying it off each year.  I've never had much debt (only mortgages and car loans - my car is paid off now) but getting rid of this mortgage has become a main focus.  It's the reason I take extra shifts at work, pick up shifts with a second job, and earn money online every day.  It all adds up!  (Last year, that extra effort totaled about $7800!)

minimalistgamer

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1108 on: January 20, 2017, 08:26:36 PM »
I need advice here.

Here is my networth situation - http://imgur.com/a/BO23I

I am earning 2.30% on the CD, and 1% on the savings account. My mortgage interest rate is at 3%. I am thinking about closing the CD and paying off the house. Is this a good idea? Thanks for any insights into this.

Monocle Money Mouth

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1109 on: January 21, 2017, 03:17:40 AM »
I need advice here.

Here is my networth situation - http://imgur.com/a/BO23I

I am earning 2.30% on the CD, and 1% on the savings account. My mortgage interest rate is at 3%. I am thinking about closing the CD and paying off the house. Is this a good idea? Thanks for any insights into this.

If it looks like you would save more in interest than you would earn by leaving it in the CD and savings account, it seems like a solid idea to me. That's partly how I rationalized draining my savings to pay off our house :D I was earning %0.95 interest in my savings account and paying %3.39 on the mortgage. I just made sure I left a few months worth of expenses in my savings account and used the rest to pay off the mortgage. It looks like even if you cash out your CD and liquidate your savings, you'll still have plenty left over.

Once you have that mortgage off your back, you can build your savings back up pretty quickly. After paying off my mortgage, I was able to double my 401(k) contributions and get my cash savings back up to a comfortable level pretty quickly. It's nice doing those net worth calculations when you are completely in the black :)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Also, yay for minimalism :) My user name alludes to minimalism in architecture.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2017, 03:21:36 AM by mies »

minimalistgamer

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1110 on: January 21, 2017, 08:31:30 AM »

If it looks like you would save more in interest than you would earn by leaving it in the CD and savings account, it seems like a solid idea to me. That's partly how I rationalized draining my savings to pay off our house :D I was earning %0.95 interest in my savings account and paying %3.39 on the mortgage. I just made sure I left a few months worth of expenses in my savings account and used the rest to pay off the mortgage. It looks like even if you cash out your CD and liquidate your savings, you'll still have plenty left over.

Once you have that mortgage off your back, you can build your savings back up pretty quickly. After paying off my mortgage, I was able to double my 401(k) contributions and get my cash savings back up to a comfortable level pretty quickly. It's nice doing those net worth calculations when you are completely in the black :)

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Also, yay for minimalism :) My user name alludes to minimalism in architecture.

I will definitely save more in interest if I were to pay off the house. I will lose 180 days worth of simple interest, but in the long run, its more profitable for me to not have a mortgage.

Thanks for your advice.

Quote
Good luck with whatever you decide to do! Also, yay for minimalism :) My user name alludes to minimalism in architecture.

Most definitely! The reason I am able to pay off the house so early is due to the fact that I have been a minimalist for a long time. I focused on the things that made me happy and I cut out the rest. Made my life a lot easier!

sansimeon

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1111 on: January 22, 2017, 06:45:29 AM »
Original Loan:  $226k in Feb 2013. 
discovered mustache at the end of that year and started on early payoff.
Current balance:  $79k.
Expected payoff:  Feb 2018.

One year to go!  Can start to taste the freedom.  Thanks to people on this thread for providing good examples and motivation.  I really cannot wait for this goal to be complete.  I'll feel a lot more comfortable leaving my high stress job once this is done.

BBub

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1112 on: January 25, 2017, 09:25:50 AM »
Currently around $83k.  Paying $1,750/mo, which will eliminate it in about 4yrs.  Will probably freak out at some point between now & then, and just demolish it.

BlueHouse

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1113 on: January 25, 2017, 02:17:01 PM »

So we walked in to our CU on Saturday and sent off the death blow via wire transfer. I still don't trust the mortgage company to acknowledge receipt of the transfer nor apply it correctly to our account as they have yet to do anything correctly in the two years since they bought our mortgage, so I'm waiting until Wednesday and then giving them a call. 

On the other hand, it feels awesomely freeing to have no debt to anyone in the world.

A Lot of people (me included) seem to have this same worry.  I've always thought that I would pay off the majority of my mortgage then watch my statements while the paperwork catches up to my payments.  If I make my final payment in response to a bank invoice, in the exact amount that they've requested, then I have some pretty good evidence that their records are up to date and that I've paid it off...even if I have to wait a few more months to see it in the county records.  But I have never seen anyone else discuss this as a plan.  Anyone? 

Neustache

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1114 on: January 25, 2017, 03:33:22 PM »
I used to work at a title company, where we paid off mortgages on a daily basis...it's really not a big deal, you guys.  They get the check (with daily interest added to make sure it's above the balance), they cut the homeowner a check for the difference, then they send the Deed of Release to the county for recording.  Every once in a while, something was paid off and we needed a release.  So we'd call them, they would send us a release.  By all means, keep on eye on it, but in my experience this really isn't a thing to be overly worried about. 


Lochi21

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1115 on: January 25, 2017, 04:03:45 PM »
I used to work at a title company, where we paid off mortgages on a daily basis...it's really not a big deal, you guys.  They get the check (with daily interest added to make sure it's above the balance), they cut the homeowner a check for the difference, then they send the Deed of Release to the county for recording.  Every once in a while, something was paid off and we needed a release.  So we'd call them, they would send us a release.  By all means, keep on eye on it, but in my experience this really isn't a thing to be overly worried about.

Thanks Neustache.  I was thinking it couldn't be that hard.  Later this year I plan to make a large lump sum payment of around 125K to completely pay off my mortgage balance. Do I contact the mortgage company (Wells Fargo) a day or two before to find out the payoff amount and then just show up to a local branch with a cashier's check from my personal bank (Chase)?  Do you foresee any issues with this large lump sum type of transaction?  I know there is no pre-payment penalty on my loan.

Neustache

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1116 on: January 25, 2017, 05:27:50 PM »
The way we always did it (pre-2005, not sure what they do now) is we'd call the mortgage company for a payoff letter good thru X date (usually 5 days past closing date) and then they'd fax it to us (LOL...fax....I'm sure they e-mail it now). 

Then we'd follow the instructions on the payoff letter and either wire it or overnight a check.  BUT....title company checks are considered (or at least they were) almost like a certified check.  So unless you are wiring the amount I'd get a cashier's check. 

Now here's the bit I don't know - we'd always overnight our checks (and charge the seller or refinancer $15 to do so!) so that we'd know it was there on time or not, as we were guaranteeing a clear title and we didn't want the seller or person refinancing saying we held the check, so we wanted proof of receipt.  So I guess I don't know what it's like to just walk into a company with a check for payoff - I've never done it!

If you don't have a prepayment penalty, no, there shouldn't be an issue with your lump sum.  I'd just call your mortgage company because everyone is going have a different way of wanting you to do it.  I plan on paying mine off online....although taking a check there would be fun, too!

Think about it this way - every time someone sells a house there's a huge (usually) lump sum paid on the mortgage when the buyer's funds (or in the case of refinance, your new mortgage company's funds) gets processed by the title company or attorney's office. 

If you've ever refinanced but never worried about it getting the previous mortgage paid off...well...it's basically the same thing happening here.  I hope that helps!

4n6

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1117 on: January 25, 2017, 06:08:26 PM »
I do hope we can do this. So I will post: $148,771 left on a 12 year mortgage with 2.875% interest. No matter what this will be done actually in 10 years, but I am hoping to do it sooner to give us more room for FI and flexibility with our budget. I first need to pay off our car and then can use that extra money for savings AND the mortgage. Congrats to everyone on their success so far.

SAfAmBrit

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1118 on: January 29, 2017, 04:29:29 PM »
Principal paid off so far

2012 - $3415
2013 - $3994
2014 - $8483
2015 - $38412 (yup got rid of all the debt and $10 000 windfall not expected)
2016 - $67650
2017 - $2700

3/1 Remaining balance $87322. Projected pay off date 09/09/2017 - SO 51st birthday.

4/1 Remaining balance $81837

4/30 Remaining balance $76952 (I owed the tax man!)

5/29 Remaining balance $73836

6/30 Remaining balance $65388

7/29 Remaining balance $60825

8/31 Remaining balance $55728

9/30 Remaining balance $49696

10/31 Remaining balance $39920

11/30 Remaining balance $36721

01/05 Remaining balance $34633

01/29 Remaining balance $32965
 
Ugg - little movement. 8 months to hit my target 9/9 payoff. $4120 needed per month. Maybe getting in the $20's will re-motivate me - I think I have payoff blues!
[/quote]

couponvan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1119 on: January 30, 2017, 09:52:40 AM »
I used to work at a title company, where we paid off mortgages on a daily basis...it's really not a big deal, you guys.  They get the check (with daily interest added to make sure it's above the balance), they cut the homeowner a check for the difference, then they send the Deed of Release to the county for recording.  Every once in a while, something was paid off and we needed a release.  So we'd call them, they would send us a release.  By all means, keep on eye on it, but in my experience this really isn't a thing to be overly worried about.

Thanks Neustache.  I was thinking it couldn't be that hard.  Later this year I plan to make a large lump sum payment of around 125K to completely pay off my mortgage balance. Do I contact the mortgage company (Wells Fargo) a day or two before to find out the payoff amount and then just show up to a local branch with a cashier's check from my personal bank (Chase)?  Do you foresee any issues with this large lump sum type of transaction?  I know there is no pre-payment penalty on my loan.
We just did a payoff last April with WF....you call and they give you a payoff amount good for a certain amount of time. They wanted a wire tranfer, not a check. Our personal bank is Chase as well, and they waived the wire fee as we are private clients. It was fairly painless.

minimalistgamer

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1120 on: January 30, 2017, 10:14:19 AM »
Paid it off last Friday! :)

Posted about it here - http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-did-it!-the-mortgage-is-gone!-its-paid-off!/

Yes, WF wanted a wire transfer. Not a huge hassle.

SAfAmBrit

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1121 on: January 30, 2017, 10:21:58 AM »
Paid it off last Friday! :)

Posted about it here - http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-did-it!-the-mortgage-is-gone!-its-paid-off!/

Yes, WF wanted a wire transfer. Not a huge hassle.

Congratulations - time for the happy dance!

minimalistgamer

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1122 on: January 30, 2017, 10:52:43 AM »
Paid it off last Friday! :)

Posted about it here - http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-did-it!-the-mortgage-is-gone!-its-paid-off!/

Yes, WF wanted a wire transfer. Not a huge hassle.

Congratulations - time for the happy dance!

Thank you so much. Its an amazing feeling. I was very nervous about paying off the loan in one shot, but...man, its worth it!

couponvan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1123 on: February 01, 2017, 10:15:48 AM »
Paid it off last Friday! :)

Posted about it here - http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-did-it!-the-mortgage-is-gone!-its-paid-off!/

Yes, WF wanted a wire transfer. Not a huge hassle.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

FrugalFan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1124 on: February 01, 2017, 06:26:33 PM »
Paid it off last Friday! :)

Posted about it here - http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/i-did-it!-the-mortgage-is-gone!-its-paid-off!/

Yes, WF wanted a wire transfer. Not a huge hassle.

Congrats!!!

FrugalFan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1125 on: February 01, 2017, 06:35:18 PM »
We paid off our mortgage today!!! We got the mortgage in fall 2009. We started out paying double each month, then slowed down to regular payments during parental leaves and when we realized that we would probably be better off investing. We'd often contemplated paying it down, but we were always in that strange position where we had too much left to pay it off quickly (I'm impatient!) and didn't want to be in a position where we started putting a lot of money into it but wouldn't have it paid off if one of us lost our jobs or something. But a couple of posts in this thread with rapidly declining balances that were as large as ours got me thinking. We used profits from selling our rental, put some idle cash to work, and sold off a few investments and paid it off in one fell swoop today! This means that we could comfortably live on just one of our salaries indefinitely if need be, and in the meantime we will be investing one salary and then some! Note that we did this after maxing out all tax advantaged accounts.

couponvan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1126 on: February 01, 2017, 06:48:09 PM »
We paid off our mortgage today!!! We got the mortgage in fall 2009. We started out paying double each month, then slowed down to regular payments during parental leaves and when we realized that we would probably be better off investing. We'd often contemplated paying it down, but we were always in that strange position where we had too much left to pay it off quickly (I'm impatient!) and didn't want to be in a position where we started putting a lot of money into it but wouldn't have it paid off if one of us lost our jobs or something. But a couple of posts in this thread with rapidly declining balances that were as large as ours got me thinking. We used profits from selling our rental, put some idle cash to work, and sold off a few investments and paid it off in one fell swoop today! This means that we could comfortably live on just one of our salaries indefinitely if need be, and in the meantime we will be investing one salary and then some! Note that we did this after maxing out all tax advantaged accounts.

FANTASTIC!!  I sometimes run cocktail napkin math about this very scenario....

SAfAmBrit

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1127 on: February 01, 2017, 09:49:28 PM »
We paid off our mortgage today!!! We got the mortgage in fall 2009. We started out paying double each month, then slowed down to regular payments during parental leaves and when we realized that we would probably be better off investing. We'd often contemplated paying it down, but we were always in that strange position where we had too much left to pay it off quickly (I'm impatient!) and didn't want to be in a position where we started putting a lot of money into it but wouldn't have it paid off if one of us lost our jobs or something. But a couple of posts in this thread with rapidly declining balances that were as large as ours got me thinking. We used profits from selling our rental, put some idle cash to work, and sold off a few investments and paid it off in one fell swoop today! This means that we could comfortably live on just one of our salaries indefinitely if need be, and in the meantime we will be investing one salary and then some! Note that we did this after maxing out all tax advantaged accounts.

Congratulations and Happy Dance ensues

FrugalFan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1128 on: February 02, 2017, 02:15:15 PM »
Thanks, everyone! I feel kind of bad posting on this thread after paying off in one fell swoop when everyone is making such amazing steady progress, but there is no one else I can tell! Thanks for letting me indulge :)

asauer

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1129 on: February 02, 2017, 04:38:42 PM »
Payoff complete!  Took some money that was sitting around and knocked it out. 
Loan originated in June 2014 - $71,600 loan at 3.375%.  Paid off in December 2016.  A wedding, baby, 2 car upgrades, 15% of gross income investing all along the way.  As mentioned before we will knock out a student loan this year but are waiting for the loan forgiveness part of it to process.  After that we will keep saving.  Invest more of our income and also save up for our son's college and for an upgrade in house down the road.  This was scheduled to be a 180 month loan that was paid off in 30 months.  This group here has provided great motivation for this!

Awesome job!  Congrats!

farmecologist

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1130 on: February 02, 2017, 07:52:37 PM »
Thanks, everyone! I feel kind of bad posting on this thread after paying off in one fell swoop when everyone is making such amazing steady progress, but there is no one else I can tell! Thanks for letting me indulge :)

Congrats!  I was in a similar situation.  Had stock options that were going to expire and used them to pay off the mortgage a few years ago.  Best thing I ever did..despite what "the math" ( i.e. - skeptics ) say.


FireLane

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1131 on: February 03, 2017, 04:58:17 AM »
As of today, I'm down to $60k left. I could pay it off this year if I got really aggressive, but I'm trying to divide my paychecks between that and putting money into Vanguard. Aiming to be mortgage-free by 2018!

Progress update: My September payment has cleared and I'm down to $51K. The end is in sight!

Down to $38K as of February. I'm getting impatient to be done with this now that the amount left is so small. :)

Lochi21

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1132 on: February 03, 2017, 05:43:22 AM »
We paid off our mortgage today!!! We got the mortgage in fall 2009. We started out paying double each month, then slowed down to regular payments during parental leaves and when we realized that we would probably be better off investing. We'd often contemplated paying it down, but we were always in that strange position where we had too much left to pay it off quickly (I'm impatient!) and didn't want to be in a position where we started putting a lot of money into it but wouldn't have it paid off if one of us lost our jobs or something. But a couple of posts in this thread with rapidly declining balances that were as large as ours got me thinking. We used profits from selling our rental, put some idle cash to work, and sold off a few investments and paid it off in one fell swoop today! This means that we could comfortably live on just one of our salaries indefinitely if need be, and in the meantime we will be investing one salary and then some! Note that we did this after maxing out all tax advantaged accounts.

Congratulations!!  That is an incredible amount of interest saved and a really impressive payoff timeline.  I'm assuming you are now 100% debt-free and will remain that way for the rest of your lives?  Think about how awesome that is!!  I'm a few months from joining you with my own mortgage and I'm really looking forward to removing the hyena's from my pocket forever!!

theadvicist

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1133 on: February 03, 2017, 05:54:57 AM »
We're not going hardcore on the mortgage paying off, but being in the UK where rates are variable or only fixed for a few years, it's something I've been working towards, so I'd love to join in?

We've had really historic low rates here, yet I remember in the 90s my parents mortgage climbing to double digits! Something like 15%. Can you imagine paying 15% of your total loan value to the bank every year?

We started in 2009 borrowing £157,000. That mortgage was at 5.49% and we were paying about £24 A DAY interest. In the five years we had that mortgage we paid £39,000 in interest, and paid of £11,000 principle. Yikes!

Managed to get a much lower rate when that mortgage expired in 2014. I also chose an offset savings account, where you savings reduce the mortgage balance on which you pay interest, as even at 2.49% there were no savings accounts which could beat it, and we keep 6 months on hand in cash at all times.

Suddenly our interest payments were more like £5 a day, so we made huge inroad into the debt. In the two year life of that deal, we paid £3,340 interest, and £12,000 principle. Compare that to the first scenario - where in 5 years we only paid of £11k and paid TEN TIMES the interest!

This is when I got quite focussed because I realised that extra payment while rates were so low would have a huge impact on the principal. I got determined to pay it off before rates went up. Note, I was still investing for maximum tax relief (SIPP pension), but not taking advantage of all tax sheltered accounts (ISAs).

I paid off about £50k extra principal from saving our income in mid 2016, when we were again due a new mortgage deal. This also brought us to under 60% Loan To Value ratio, meaning we could get a rate of 1.5%. Currently we are paying £2.50 a day in interest - down from ten times that at the beginning. I also decided to shorten the amortization from 30 years to 15 years. Combined with another offset account, we are reducing the balance by about £450 a month.

I consider myself so lucky to live in this time of low interest rates. If the cycle repeats itself I should be piling up the savings as rates go higher as well.

2009 Original balance: £157,000
2017 Current balance: £81,850. I'm amazing to see £1k knocked off nearly every other month.

We can overpay by 10% per year without penalty. The deal expires in mid-2019, at which time we can pay it all off with a lump sum without penalty if we choose.

So my priorities are thus: maximum tax relief on Retirement account first and foremost. Then a split between ISAs (stocks and shares tax sheltered savings accounts) and paying off the mortgage. You guys are really inspiring! Thank you. 

talltexan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1134 on: February 10, 2017, 08:56:14 AM »
I've really enjoyed the energy and excitement of this thread. Slaying that huge debt is commendable and worth celebrating. Congrats, guys!

Simpli-Fi

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1135 on: February 11, 2017, 05:07:06 AM »
Under $20k

XLLaK7wsV

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1136 on: February 12, 2017, 11:46:08 AM »
Been following this thread for a couple years and that got me to focus on getting it knocked out.  Finally got it paid off this month.  Here is the balance since I started logging it during the paydown:

01/8/2016    $40,100
02/5/2016    $37,200
03/4/2016    $34,200
04/2/2016    $31,100
05/1/2016    $28,900
06/1/2016    $25,400
07/1/2016    $22,800
08/1/2016    $19,300
09/1/2016    $16,300
10/1/2016    $11,600
11/1/2016    $11,000
12/1/2016    $10,500
01/1/2017    $  9,900
02/1/2017    $  4,600
02/9/2017    $       0

Probably won't feel different till next month when there is no payment to make.  Thanks for the inspiration in this thread!

markbike528CBX

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1137 on: February 12, 2017, 09:26:34 PM »
@XLLaK7wsV

Do tell
       a) how does it feel next month
       b) what you did with all that new cash (we hope it is in VTSAX or VXUS or similar :-)


Decoy1

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1138 on: February 15, 2017, 09:53:43 AM »
Longtime lurker here but decided to jump in on this thread for motivation

Original mortgage acquired in April 2013...375k at 3.9%. Paid the minimum for the first year but after seeing how little was going toward the principle my wife and decided we'd had it. As of October 1 the balance is 147k! Can't  wait to get under 100k.

october 2016 147k

November 2016 142k



November '16 142k
December '16 135k

Getting close!
February '16  81k

Payoff will slow down a bit over the next few months but hoping to be free of it by the the end of 2017

runewell

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1139 on: February 15, 2017, 12:10:02 PM »
I think paying off my mortgage would be a TERRIBLE idea.

My rate is 2.625% and by deducting my $3,430 of mortgage interest I saved $784 in taxes, making my effective borrowing rate 2.025%


2.625% x (3430-784)/3430 = 2.025%

I would expect to get a much higher return out of the stock market.  Everyone's situation is different, but by paying down your market you are merely guaranteeing a rate of return equal to your loan's interest rate.  Does that really make financial sense?

Decoy1

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1140 on: February 15, 2017, 12:57:44 PM »
Those are good points runewell and at that interest rate I'm not sure what I would do. For me I just don't want debt and without a mortgage monthly cash flow is significantly improved. We are already saving ~20% for retirement and without a mortgage will be able to bump that up to over 30% so we are not paying down the mortgage at the expense of saving.

 I've never understood the whole appeal of deducting mortgage interest unless I'm understanding it wrong . Say someone makes 150k a year and pays 30k a year towards their mortgage with 10k going toward interest. At the end of the year they will pay taxes on 140k instead of 150k...correct? So to get that 10k deduction they had to pay 30k. If that same person didn't have a mortgage couldn't they just take that 30k and put 20k in taxable investments and give 10k to charity and get a deduction?

Alfred J Quack

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1141 on: February 15, 2017, 01:11:20 PM »
Current status: under 20k
Strech goal: Kill it in 2017

Major plus is that our interest dropped from 4% fixed to 2% variable (montly recalculation). My interest is now €30/month :D

runewell

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1142 on: February 15, 2017, 02:26:48 PM »
I've never understood the whole appeal of deducting mortgage interest
Well I'm not borrowing money just so I can pay lower taxes - I want a house as well!  The relevant point is that about 1/4 of the amount I pay in interest comes back to me, so I am only paying 3/4 of the interest when all is said and done. 

What I don't understand is why people are celebrating the 2-4% rate of returns people are getting by prepaying their mortgages. 
« Last Edit: February 15, 2017, 02:28:37 PM by runewell »

Decoy1

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1143 on: February 15, 2017, 03:10:41 PM »
I've never understood the whole appeal of deducting mortgage interest
Well I'm not borrowing money just so I can pay lower taxes - I want a house as well!

Hahaha

I really don't think there is a right or wrong answer when it comes to paying off debt vs investing. I imagine in the end it will all be a wash and we will both be fine. I guess I'm just glad we live in a time with amazingly low rates...who would've ever thought we'd have sub 3% rates.

flowrider

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1144 on: February 15, 2017, 06:28:51 PM »
I've never understood the whole appeal of deducting mortgage interest
Well I'm not borrowing money just so I can pay lower taxes - I want a house as well!  The relevant point is that about 1/4 of the amount I pay in interest comes back to me, so I am only paying 3/4 of the interest when all is said and done. 

What I don't understand is why people are celebrating the 2-4% rate of returns people are getting by prepaying their mortgages.
Here in NZ interest rates are creeping up with most terms now over 5% and there are no tax benefits for non investment properties here. For me having the mortgage paid off will be a weight off the shoulders. I am under $10k to go now.

AcctgGuy

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1145 on: February 17, 2017, 02:15:03 PM »
I am joining this crew. Ultimately, I want my wife to stay home with our future kids. A big step to accomplishing that will be killing this mortgage. I'm also looking forward to NEVER having a mortgage/rent payment outside of tax/insurance ever again once we tackle this!

Beginning Balance March 2016: $243,600 (20% Equity)

February 2017: $213,900 (30% Equity)

I'm happy with our progress so far but a long way to go. On to getting this thing under $200k.

pdxmonkey

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1146 on: February 18, 2017, 09:35:38 AM »
I've never understood the whole appeal of deducting mortgage interest
Well I'm not borrowing money just so I can pay lower taxes - I want a house as well!  The relevant point is that about 1/4 of the amount I pay in interest comes back to me, so I am only paying 3/4 of the interest when all is said and done. 

What I don't understand is why people are celebrating the 2-4% rate of returns people are getting by prepaying their mortgages.
Diversification. Paying the mortgage early is similar to buying a bond in many ways. I have zero bonds in my portfolio.
« Last Edit: March 06, 2017, 10:48:52 PM by pdxmonkey »

talltexan

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1147 on: February 21, 2017, 08:38:10 AM »
Kinda shocked to see the pay off home versus invest debate in this thread. Indeed it is an interesting debate (i am personally on the slow-pay-off side), but I'd like to see this thread be a safe space for people who take the commendable step of living in a paid-for house.

The consumer-world celebrates people for buying things, even when some of those things may detract from over-all wealth. Why shouldn't we celebrate this triumph of anti-consumerism?

jordanread

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1148 on: February 21, 2017, 08:42:01 AM »
Kinda shocked to see the pay off home versus invest debate in this thread. Indeed it is an interesting debate (i am personally on the slow-pay-off side), but I'd like to see this thread be a safe space for people who take the commendable step of living in a paid-for house.

The consumer-world celebrates people for buying things, even when some of those things may detract from over-all wealth. Why shouldn't we celebrate this triumph of anti-consumerism?

Don't be that shocked. It's 24 pages long, and I'd say that there is less than 2 pages of that. Otherwise, it's more like a celebration thread for those who go this route. Use it as such, and you'll be fine.

Alfred J Quack

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Re: Mortgage Payoff Club!!
« Reply #1149 on: February 21, 2017, 01:31:51 PM »
Kinda shocked to see the pay off home versus invest debate in this thread. Indeed it is an interesting debate (i am personally on the slow-pay-off side), but I'd like to see this thread be a safe space for people who take the commendable step of living in a paid-for house.

The consumer-world celebrates people for buying things, even when some of those things may detract from over-all wealth. Why shouldn't we celebrate this triumph of anti-consumerism?

Don't be that shocked. It's 24 pages long, and I'd say that there is less than 2 pages of that. Otherwise, it's more like a celebration thread for those who go this route. Use it as such, and you'll be fine.

A big part of the choice is also what you feel comfortable with. Some people calculate risks and choose investment over paying off because it is the most profitable way within their scope of calculation. Personally, I chose that guaranteed with no risks result of wiping out the mortgage and will start investing after clearing it (only 19k to go!).