Dave Smith wrote: >>I agree, I mentioned both of those problems. >>1) get a fixed rate line of credit. (They exist I have one.) >>2) Use a budget and stick to it. >> >>Works for us, we've saved a lot more money than we could have by staying >>with a mortgage. Banks love it when people use the system to the banks >>advantage--True that they love these types of plans because most people >>don't take advantage of them they way they could. Banks don't love it >>when people do things smartly with their money but, as you point out, >>most people don't. >> >> > >This begs some questions: > >How long's the term of fixed interest? > > 15 years.
>What's the rate? If it's above 4.5%, it's no better than a 15-year fixed >rate mortgage. > > It would have been if we locked it when rates were that low. They aren't now though. The balance on our line is low enough that the extra money we have in earning "negative" interest pays for the difference in the interest rate. ie:, if I refinanced to a 4.5% 15 year fixed mortgage, I'd have to take out the money I currently have in the equity line to be my "emergency cash" fund. The greater balance at a lower interest rate would be slightly more than the smaller balance at the higher interest rate. (Trust me I've done the math.) >Is there a balloon payment required at the end? > > No, they roll any unpaid balance into a fixed 15 year automatically if you haven't paid it off. >Is the rate fixed for a term, and adjustable after that? > > No. It's set up adjustable from day 1, but you can pay a minimal fee ($50) to lock your current rate. (That gets paid for pretty quickly as interest rates go up.) >Are there fees associated with paying "early"? > > Not unless you pay the entire amount within 3 years. But the amount only refunds the appraisal cost $(300) withing that time (They paid it), and is free if it takes longer than 3 years. >Is there a fee to set it up in the first place? > > None (unless you count the house appraisal fee as noted above and the fee to lock the rate.) > >By the way, congratulations on being disciplined enough to stick to this >plan. It takes a level of dedication that most do not possess. > > My wife and I are penny pinchers :D. (We got this equity deal from Key bank.) > > >>The moral is, buying an mp3 player is much to difficult for this list to >>decide :D >> >> > >Absolutely. The only reason I'm still subscribed. :) > > That and I like to bash the job postings (or post one myself) from time to time :D /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
