Posts Tagged ‘mortgages’

Buy or Rent?

From:
November 26 2012

To buy or rent, that is the first question.

If you are currently renting a home or apartment, you may be considering whether or not it would be advantageous to buy. Though the economy has changed dramatically in the last several years, many people still consider owning a home part of the American dream.  Here are some things to think about as you weigh the rent vs. buy decision:

To rent:

  • Renting provides flexibility – to easily change jobs, to change cities, or even to test out an area to see if you really want to live there long term.
  • Renting has less financial risk – should you experience a change in job status – and/or if you haven’t yet put away a good rainy day fund to cover unexpected financial challenges, renting may be a better bet.  When you rent, you avoid many of the extra expenses that come with home ownership, like maintenance, property taxes, some of your utilities, etc.
  • Renting means less “house work” – your landlord takes care of the yard, the leaky faucet, and more.
  • Renting often provides amenities – like a swimming pool, a fitness room, or a playground.

To buy:

Is it time to refinance your mortgage?

From:
September 26 2011

If you are a homeowner, your home is likely one of your biggest investments and your mortgage, one of your largest monthly expenses. If you happen to stay in your home until your mortgage is paid off, the total amount you’ll pay over the life of the loan – including principal and interest – will be considerably more than the original loan amount.

Let’s just say that you borrowed $150,000 on a 30 year mortgage at 4.75%. If you pay off your mortgage over those 30 years, you’ll end up paying just under $132,000 in interest. The opportunity to lower your interest rate and/or reduce the term of your mortgage can have a significant impact on your total interest expense. For example, take the same $150,000 for 30 years at 3.75%. Not only would you save about $88 on your monthly payment, you’d save about $31,500 in interest over the life of the loan.

Let’s continue with our example and consider a 15 year mortgage for $150,000 at 3.75%. Though your monthly payment would increase, you not only would pay off your mortgage in half the time, but you’d save more than $85,000 in interest as compared to the 30 … [Continue Reading]

Buying a Home

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