For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

[NDAlum]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I'm a big advocate of shorter mortgages if you can swing it...

Make sure you look at all options. Personally I would go back and find a 15-year mortgage if I could. A 30-year mortgage is FOREVER and you pay so much damn interest.

[cjonesfan921]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I'm a big advocate of shorter mortgages if you can swing it...

Make sure you look at all options. Personally I would go back and find a 15-year mortgage if I could. A 30-year mortgage is FOREVER and you pay so much damn interest.

It also depends, rates are low enough where you should take full advantage.

There's a lot you can do with the extra savings of pushing the mortgage to 30...you can in most cases make money off it in the long run.

If you stay put with your money, then I'd agree going 15 is better.

[NDAlum]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yep it depends on your income & cash flow and what you have available to invest. He's a teacher and IMO he's not going to have a ton of disposable income to invest. I might very well be incorrect.

I feel like I would not pay that much more for a 15-year mortgage vs a 30-year mortgage. I'm almost 5 years into my house and having 10 left vs 25 would be one hell of a feeling.

I'm just saying to explore all options including loan duration.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Not sure if I have a choice of loan duration if I go with the Palmetto Hero's program. But considering I also want start an online master's program this year the only way I'll be able to afford it is going with a 30 year loan or dial back on how much house I can buy.

[Lava]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

It also depends, rates are low enough where you should take full advantage.

There's a lot you can do with the extra savings of pushing the mortgage to 30...you can in most cases make money off it in the long run.

If you stay put with your money, then I'd agree going 15 is better.

If you had a paid-for house, would you borrow on it to invest?

[Slymm]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Looking to buy and really clueless on what to expect as far as a mortgage/insurance/taxes/etc. Anyone have any ideas on where to start with my research? My wife and I are looking at around $200,000 to spend in Grand Blanc, MI.

[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Yep it depends on your income & cash flow and what you have available to invest. He's a teacher and IMO he's not going to have a ton of disposable income to invest. I might very well be incorrect.

I feel like I would not pay that much more for a 15-year mortgage vs a 30-year mortgage. I'm almost 5 years into my house and having 10 left vs 25 would be one hell of a feeling.

I'm just saying to explore all options including loan duration.

Makes total sense. 15 years would have made us too house poor, as of now our mortgage is a number that compares to if we were renting.

My parents just refinanced into a 15 year mortgage though. With their situation (not paying off student loans and whatnot), plus a little higher income it made total sense. Now they'll pay off their house probably before they retire and just be golden at that point.

[Knight165]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

You guys do realize that you can just add $$$ to your payments each month thereby bypassing interest and making the term of the loan to how long you want AND have the added benefit of not being tied into it if you get a little short on money.....right?

M.K.
Knight165

[NDAlum]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

I'm well aware but I would have rather gotten a less expensive house and had it paid off in 15 years. Plus I do better when things are set in stone and I must pay them. It's so easy to not put that extra money towards the house and spend it on unimportant things.

Once again that's just my take.

[ScoobySnax]

You guys do realize that you can just add $$$ to your payments each month thereby bypassing interest and making the term of the loan to how long you want AND have the added benefit of not being tied into it if you get a little short on money.....right?

M.K.
Knight165

Bingo. I can pay more, but I'm not obligated to do so. That's why I always extend my terms as long as possible (30yr mortgage, 60 months for cars, etc). I always pay off early, but I like having the flexibility.

[23]

Looking to buy and really clueless on what to expect as far as a mortgage/insurance/taxes/etc. Anyone have any ideas on where to start with my research? My wife and I are looking at around $200,000 to spend in Grand Blanc, MI.

What's the rate of the loan

What kind of loan. .conventional Or fha



Galaxy Note 2

[Trevytrev11]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Bingo. I can pay more, but I'm not obligated to do so. That's why I always extend my terms as long as possible (30yr mortgage, 60 months for cars, etc). I always pay off early, but I like having the flexibility.

Good for flexibility if needed, but if the flexibility is not needed, typically longer term loans come with higher rates (especially with mortgages). If you make extra principal payments on a 30 year fixed at 3.5% and pay if off in 15 years, you are going to end up paying more in interest than you would have had you originally gone with a 15 year fixed at 2.75%. Obviously you are coming out ahead as opposed to paying it off over 30 years, but just pointing out there are still benefits to initially going with a shorter term if it works.

[Trevytrev11]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

Looking to buy and really clueless on what to expect as far as a mortgage/insurance/taxes/etc. Anyone have any ideas on where to start with my research? My wife and I are looking at around $200,000 to spend in Grand Blanc, MI.

Unfortunately rates have climbed over the last few weeks and you are probably looking at a 30 year fixed rate of somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.25% (assuming you have solid credit)

***This gives you a principal/interest payment of $984/month.

Per your states website, I would estimate property taxes at $16.48/$1,000 or $3,296.00 per year

***Property Taxes of $275/Month

I have no clue what kind of natural disasters, etc. you face in Michigan, but I would imagine you could find home owners insurance for $1,000 - $1,200 a year. You will also likely realize a discount on your car insurance if you bundle the policies with the same provider.

***Homeowners Insurance of $100/Month.

If you do not put 20% down ($40,000), you are likely going to get hit with PMI (private mortgage insurance), which you pay monthly until your homes loan is <80%of the homes value (either you pay off the home, or the value of the home increases). Assuming you put 5-10% down, you are talking another $85 - $115 in PMI. Call it $100.

***PMI ~ $100/month.

So all in you are likely somewhere in the ballpark of $1,500 per month.

There are some benefits of putting 20% down. You typically get better rates (assuming you have excellent credit), you do not have to pay PMI, you can choose not to escrow (escrow meaning you pay the bank monthly for your insurance, taxes, etc. and they make the annual payments on your behalf). If you have 20% equity, you can likely opt to self-escrow meaning you control how you pay your taxes (put money away monthly, use your annual bonus, etc).


Also, banks typically want your payment to be less than about 30% of your monthly income. So at $1500/month, they are going to want you to bring in $5,000 a month. I believe they use pre-tax earnings for this ratio.

Another benefit....you likely will have enough deductions to itemize your taxes at the end of the year and reap the benefits of claiming your property taxes and interest. These both essentially will offset your earnings and lower you taxes considerably. In the first few years of your mortgage you will be paying $8K-$9K in interest and another $3K in property taxes. Assuming you are paying 20% tax rate, you are talking about $2,400 less in federal income tax you could essentially realize.

[mgoblue]

Re: For all of you guys who are homeowners or newly owned

You guys do realize that you can just add $$$ to your payments each month thereby bypassing interest and making the term of the loan to how long you want AND have the added benefit of not being tied into it if you get a little short on money.....right?

M.K.
Knight165

Be careful and verify with your lender that your added money will go toward the principle. Sometimes they register it as an "added payment" or something different instead.

You're 100% right in that you can pay more off your principle, just make sure it's happening correctly!

[grismosw]

Property taxes in Grand Blanc are ridiculous for the area.