Anyone mortgage free?

The biggest problem is RISING Interest Rates. People were used to Qualifying for loans at 3-3.5%, and are now expected to pay 5% for that same loan. A lot of people will not qualify for as much house because of the interest rate increase, and as such... will not have as much buying power. I think we are headed for a real slowdown in the housing market, and maybe a slight price DECLINE in some areas. There is a FLOOD of inventory on the market here in NY, which is also not great.

I'm curious to see how this will all pan out. We are not in for another 2008 Meltdown from a flood of foreclosures and ARM Adjustments, but... without EASY MONEY stimulating things, Market Appreciation will certainly soften. We've already established that our home will probably lose 5-10% of its value over the next two years. We are fine because we can wait out, and plan to sell in 7 years or so. Just wondering what some of our neighbors will do.
Totally agree on the rising interest rates and the slowdown. I just (selfishly) hope it holds off for a few more months. Still strong here for now although softening around the edges.
 
We'd love to *really* get out of dodge, but have to stay in CA at least until DH retires and probably beyond as S21 is special needs, and he's tied to area.

i got ya-my ds 21 is special needs as well. we were REALLY fortunate upon his diagnosis (after we moved here) to find that washington has some of the best programs to suit his needs.

The biggest problem is RISING Interest Rates. People were used to Qualifying for loans at 3-3.5%, and are now expected to pay 5% for that same loan.

i'm sorry, i know i'm going to come off as a crotchety oldie here but i overheard a loan officer at our credit union saying the same thing yesterday and i knew before i saw him that he had to be somewhat younger b/c loan rates in the 3% range have only been seen for about 6 or 7 years-before that we only had them in the 5's a few brief periods of time b/c they were so much higher. again going to sound ancient but-i got my first mortgage at the beginning of the 90's and was thrilled as a first time home buyer with limited credit, with a loan in the low DOUBLE DIGITS interest wise. thrilled all the more when i got to re-fi a couple years later DOWN to 'only' in the 9% range.

people need to know that loan rates go up and down-we've been lucky with historically low rates the law handful of years. take a look at what folks were paying in the early 80's and that 5% will seem like heaven on earth.
 


i got ya-my ds 21 is special needs as well. we were REALLY fortunate upon his diagnosis (after we moved here) to find that washington has some of the best programs to suit his needs.



i'm sorry, i know i'm going to come off as a crotchety oldie here but i overheard a loan officer at our credit union saying the same thing yesterday and i knew before i saw him that he had to be somewhat younger b/c loan rates in the 3% range have only been seen for about 6 or 7 years-before that we only had them in the 5's a few brief periods of time b/c they were so much higher. again going to sound ancient but-i got my first mortgage at the beginning of the 90's and was thrilled as a first time home buyer with limited credit, with a loan in the low DOUBLE DIGITS interest wise. thrilled all the more when i got to re-fi a couple years later DOWN to 'only' in the 9% range.

people need to know that loan rates go up and down-we've been lucky with historically low rates the law handful of years. take a look at what folks were paying in the early 80's and that 5% will seem like heaven on earth.
I remember my sister got married in 1980 and her interest rate in her mortgage was insane.
 
We were at one point. We bought our home during the 2008 housing crisis. It was a foreclosure and was in ok condition. The home is 150 years old. After 5 years though it was clear the house needed some TLC. By that time the home values had shot up so we were able to get a home equity loan to pay for the repairs. We still have a few things we would like to do but for the most part the house is now structurally sound again. We have a new deck and just got solar panels installed. We only have a mortgage that's under 100k.
 
How do you like the 55 plus community? We are flying to Florida in December to look at 20 55 plus communities... exciting!
Sounds like you have a beautiful place now!
Can you post some pics of your remodeled home?

We really enjoy living in a 55+ community. It is quiet. Our community is gated. Our lot fee is only $285 for 10 years and includes lawn care and water. If you would like to know where - we are in Bradenton in Bayshore Windmill Village.
 


We really enjoy living in a 55+ community. It is quiet. Our community is gated. Our lot fee is only $285 for 10 years and includes lawn care and water. If you would like to know where - we are in Bradenton in Bayshore Windmill Village.
So happy you like it there. We are looking at Mirabella a 55+ community in Bradenton, also one in Lakewood Ranch & two in Wimauma. Maybe we will be neighbors!!
 
i'm sorry, i know i'm going to come off as a crotchety oldie here but i overheard a loan officer at our credit union saying the same thing yesterday and i knew before i saw him that he had to be somewhat younger b/c loan rates in the 3% range have only been seen for about 6 or 7 years-before that we only had them in the 5's a few brief periods of time b/c they were so much higher. again going to sound ancient but-i got my first mortgage at the beginning of the 90's and was thrilled as a first time home buyer with limited credit, with a loan in the low DOUBLE DIGITS interest wise. thrilled all the more when i got to re-fi a couple years later DOWN to 'only' in the 9% range.

people need to know that loan rates go up and down-we've been lucky with historically low rates the law handful of years. take a look at what folks were paying in the early 80's and that 5% will seem like heaven on earth.
Look... All I'll say is take a look at your home's Zillow "Zestimate" and your area's average market value, and than compare it to this chart from the Fed. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=NUh. There is a pattern.

Another wonderful example...

USA-Home-Price_1950-2009-real.png

fdV83yP.png
 
Look... All I'll say is take a look at your home's Zillow "Zestimate" and your area's average market value, and than compare it to this chart from the Fed. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=NUh. There is a pattern.

Another wonderful example...

USA-Home-Price_1950-2009-real.png

fdV83yP.png


not to take this offtrack but i'm not a big fan of zillow, on a personal basis i find their data to be WAY OFF. they claim to use property tax and other government public records for their data but in the case of one home we sold the purchase price is off over 200K and their average prices for existing homes in our current area is fairly off. i guess it doesn't help when their system lets individual owners (or those who claim to be) go in and tweak their home values which i've seen a number do when they get ready to list.
 
You guys in Calfornia are LUCKY. You have ZERO grasp of what NY State Taxes are like. We pay almost $3.8k a MONTH in property taxes on a fairly modest home, and we still send our kids to private schools.

Wow! I also live in NYS, and pay $4200 per year on our 2200 square foot home on 2 acres. I'm in Erie County which has some of the highest property taxes in the state. Definitely higher than my home state (MD -- although they are slowly catching up) and of course more expensive than the south. When broken down, most of the money is from our local school tax, not the state or county. But I have to imagine your house is much bigger than mine, or perhaps downstate somewhere, where home values are much higher?

[eta] I've only been a homeowner since 2007 so I don't know much about interest rates. I know that our first house was purchased in Feb 2007 and got a 3% interest rate... then we bought 3 more houses and they were all about that. The home we're in now was in 2012 and it was 3.25% (I'm pretty sure). But I have heard it's been going up. Not quite like the rates from the 80's of course...
 
Wow! I also live in NYS, and pay $4200 per year on our 2200 square foot home on 2 acres. I'm in Erie County which has some of the highest property taxes in the state. Definitely higher than my home state (MD -- although they are slowly catching up) and of course more expensive than the south. When broken down, most of the money is from our local school tax, not the state or county. But I have to imagine your house is much bigger than mine, or perhaps downstate somewhere, where home values are much higher?

We live in Garden City, NY (Long Island).. and our home is just a little over 2,600 SQ Feet. But, I'm telling you... it's nothing impressive by any means. I think everyone around me pays at least $35k or more a year. I can only imagine how much our home would be worth if we didn't have taxes this high. It would probably double in value.
[eta] I've only been a homeowner since 2007 so I don't know much about interest rates. I know that our first house was purchased in Feb 2007 and got a 3% interest rate... then we bought 3 more houses and they were all about that. The home we're in now was in 2012 and it was 3.25% (I'm pretty sure). But I have heard it's been going up. Not quite like the rates from the 80's of course...

The 2007 Mortgage you received - sounds like a Payment Option Loan. They were incredibly common back then, and had much lower interest rates, than Fixed Rate Loans. You received a 3% Rate when everyone else was paying 5.500%. We received one with a 1% Interest Rate in 2005, and it worked out well for us, but I don't think the loans are offered anymore.

The point I was trying to make is --- as rates rise, I think the appreciation gains are going to slow down. Particularly in very hot markets, but... the slowdown will start regional and spread nationally. It should be interesting for sure.
 
We live in Garden City, NY (Long Island).. and our home is just a little over 2,600 SQ Feet. But, I'm telling you... it's nothing impressive by any means. I think everyone around me pays at least $35k or more a year. I can only imagine how much our home would be worth if we didn't have taxes this high. It would probably double in value.


The 2007 Mortgage you received - sounds like a Payment Option Loan. They were incredibly common back then, and had much lower interest rates, than Fixed Rate Loans. You received a 3% Rate when everyone else was paying 5.500%. We received one with a 1% Interest Rate in 2005, and it worked out well for us, but I don't think the loans are offered anymore.

The point I was trying to make is --- as rates rise, I think the appreciation gains are going to slow down. Particularly in very hot markets, but... the slowdown will start regional and spread nationally. It should be interesting for sure.


Ouch, yeah I'd totally be homeless in Long Island, lol. Like I can't even comprehend how I would pay that and eat (I know wages are different but... still).

We had a fixed rate loan on each house. It also maybe helped us that the Buffalo market was very depressed, the price for that first home (1800 square foot double) was 80k. We were fortunate because we slowly built our way up to the house we are at now by fixing the others up to sell at short term profit.... while we unfortunately watched others struggle with pre foreclosure when the recession hit.

[Eta] Hmm. Maybe the second house was 3% and the first one was 5%. You had me thinking more and the more I read that is probably the case and I'm just not remembering right, they all jumble together after a while. The first house was 2007 and the second one was 2010 so the 3% makes more sense there. I don't have the paperwork handy but let's go with that, lol.

NYS taxes are insane but I at least get a great public school district and a couple quality of life benefits from it. It's a shame that it's gotten so bad because it has driven people away, and I do like it here otherwise. But I don't see it changing any time soon. Downstate has the allure of NYC and it's job market, which I guess is how it holds on to people despite the taxes? I don't really know. 35k is super insane though.
 
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So happy you like it there. We are looking at Mirabella a 55+ community in Bradenton, also one in Lakewood Ranch & two in Wimauma. Maybe we will be neighbors!!
You just have to be careful with lot rents. We looked in all of the parks in Bradenton and some in Sarasota and Ellington.

In Bradenton: Palm Lake Estates - nice looking, gated, low lot rent - NO PETS
Gulf Lake Estates - (across the street) - nice looking, gated, low lot rent - NO PETS
Westwinds - beautiful park, gated, low lot rent, you can have pets *** this is the #1 for me, but we bought a place in my brother-in-law' park.

In Sarasota: All of the parks we looked at were nice but close to $1000 in lot rents.

In Ellenton: Colony Cove - very nice, a lot of activities, 5 pools, not gated - $1000 in lot rent.
 
i got ya-my ds 21 is special needs as well. we were REALLY fortunate upon his diagnosis (after we moved here) to find that washington has some of the best programs to suit his needs.



i'm sorry, i know i'm going to come off as a crotchety oldie here but i overheard a loan officer at our credit union saying the same thing yesterday and i knew before i saw him that he had to be somewhat younger b/c loan rates in the 3% range have only been seen for about 6 or 7 years-before that we only had them in the 5's a few brief periods of time b/c they were so much higher. again going to sound ancient but-i got my first mortgage at the beginning of the 90's and was thrilled as a first time home buyer with limited credit, with a loan in the low DOUBLE DIGITS interest wise. thrilled all the more when i got to re-fi a couple years later DOWN to 'only' in the 9% range.

people need to know that loan rates go up and down-we've been lucky with historically low rates the law handful of years. take a look at what folks were paying in the early 80's and that 5% will seem like heaven on earth.
My parents bought their first house near Disneyland in 1970 for 30k and paid cash. My parents never took out loans for anything. Interest rates were too high. They saved up and paid cash. Nether one has ever even had a car loan. Now a days everyones in debt up to their eyeballs Lower interest rates=equals higher prices= equals more debt.
 
I was getting ready to say the same thing. Our house is valued at just under $200,000 and I think our property taxes last year were about $1500.
My last house was in an area of old homes with an independent school district, and not a very good one. Taxes on a cape cod valued at 110k were about 2200 for city and county. Now I live in a better city. My house is valued at about 160k. I also have a second lot attached, taxed at about 40k. Separately, I have 14 acres of rural property valued at about 200k but taxed as agricultural based on a value of about 50k, and a lot attached there for building valued at 10k. That property is not in a city so only pay county taxes. All that property combined brings tax of around $2500. I am in the greater Cincinnati area.

I will add that $190 of that is for a year of trash pickup.
 
Our first home we took a 5 year balloon mtg
..super low payments and we socked away some money and invested much of earnings. We knew we’d sell in year 4. Beginning year 4, we sold it at a profit ( I sold it myself ... a neighbors relative, and family atty handled it for us)
We purchased our second home (with a small mtg). Raised our family and upon retirement sold it at a good profit.
Purchased our 3rd home, debt free.
Loving Every minute of it.. sw fla
 
We live in Garden City, NY (Long Island).. and our home is just a little over 2,600 SQ Feet. But, I'm telling you... it's nothing impressive by any means. I think everyone around me pays at least $35k or more a year. I can only imagine how much our home would be worth if we didn't have taxes this high. It would probably double in value.


The 2007 Mortgage you received - sounds like a Payment Option Loan. They were incredibly common back then, and had much lower interest rates, than Fixed Rate Loans. You received a 3% Rate when everyone else was paying 5.500%. We received one with a 1% Interest Rate in 2005, and it worked out well for us, but I don't think the loans are offered anymore.

The point I was trying to make is --- as rates rise, I think the appreciation gains are going to slow down. Particularly in very hot markets, but... the slowdown will start regional and spread nationally. It should be interesting for sure.

Lived in Merrick...worked in Garden city .. beautiful!
 

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