Your mortgage length?

[Imp]

Just got a pre-approval for a mortage. I wanted 25, they gave me 35. The only reason i'd want it lower is so that there is less interest to pay, but I would be dumping quite a bit extra into paying off the principal anyways.

 

[JTsyo]

I told my wife that we could buy a townhouse with low payments and in about 5 years have enough for a house with almost no mortgage but we were having a kid and she didn't want to deal with a townhouse when we could afford a house. Since the market was down and rates low, think we made off pretty good. 30years @ 4.875% after $3K in points.

 

[Gothgar]

I got a 17 year mortgage

just dont like the idea of a 30 either, I dont want to pay for it twice

 

[D1gger]

The situation is somewhat different in Canada as we are not allowed to deduct mortgage interest on our tax returns. I have had four mortgages on various properties and always amortized them over a 15 year term with options to make early payments. The difference in interest charges for the longer term mortgages always convinced me to take the shortest amortization period I possibly could, and then make as many extra payments as I possibly could.

$150,000 Mortgage 30 year amortization @ 5% compounded semi-annually (Canadian method)
Monthly payments ~$800
Total Interest $138,193

$150,000 Mortgage 15 year amortization @ 5% compounded semi-annually
Monthly payments ~$1,182
Total Interest $62,793

The longest we actually had a mortgage was about 11 years, and I am happy to say we are now totally debt free.

 

[ichy]

At this point with interest rates being as low as they are and mortgage interest being tax deductible it makes more sense for me to put extra cash in my retirement accounts or a larger emergency fund rather than pre-paying my mortgage.

 

[spidey07]

At this point with interest rates being as low as they are and mortgage interest being tax deductible it makes more sense for me to put extra cash in my retirement accounts or a larger emergency fund rather than pre-paying my mortgage.

Exactly. With rates this incredible low a 30 year mortgage actually makes the MOST sense and paying any extra is only hurting you financially.

It makes zero sense to pay any extra principal with rates like this. Put it into the market and let your money make more money for you.

 

[ichy]

A fixed-rate mortgage is also a great hedge against inflation.

I've heard some people refer to mortgages as "good debt" because the interest is tax deductible. That IMO is a load of crap. No kind of debt is good, however the drawbacks of debt can be outweighed by the benefits of more investments or a big emergency fund. I'd rather have a $100k mortgage with $20k in extra cash reserves instead of a $80k mortgage without any significant reserves.

 

[JS80]

Hell I'll take it further. At the rates now I would love to do a 50 year mortgage.

 

[sdifox]

my mortgage was 30... I am done in 8. Would have been faster if I didn't get my ass let go.

 

[Triumph]

Does anyone have any advice on CHOOSING a mortgage lender? I have two people in front of me, one that I found on Bankrate, one that my realtor told me about. It seems to me that since the loan is going to be bought and sold anyway, service of the loan is inconsequential. That leaves the rates I can get, and the capability of these people through the process. How do I know anything about that when all I have to go on is what these people tell me? One lady has been working with my realtor in this area for the last 20 years, but has only been at the current lender for 6 weeks. The other guy has been with the lender for a year and a half, but only moved to this area 2 years ago. Both recommend a certain title company, the capabilities of which are again questionable and based on whatever these lenders can tell me. It seems like choosing a lender is a crap shoot.

 

[JS80]

Zillow mortgage marketplace

 

[DrPizza]

Does anyone have any advice on CHOOSING a mortgage lender? I have two people in front of me, one that I found on Bankrate, one that my realtor told me about. It seems to me that since the loan is going to be bought and sold anyway, service of the loan is inconsequential. That leaves the rates I can get, and the capability of these people through the process. How do I know anything about that when all I have to go on is what these people tell me? One lady has been working with my realtor in this area for the last 20 years, but has only been at the current lender for 6 weeks. The other guy has been with the lender for a year and a half, but only moved to this area 2 years ago. Both recommend a certain title company, the capabilities of which are again questionable and based on whatever these lenders can tell me. It seems like choosing a lender is a crap shoot.

I'd recommend DO NOT USE LENDING TREE DOT COM!!!
(see old thread of mine about my nightmare - seems that at least some of the companies you find on there are companies desperate for business & do not know what they're doing.)

We got a mortgage broker to do that work for us - I believe the cost was $2000, but
A. Over the term of the mortgage, we'll have saved far in excess of that
B. We wouldn't have managed to purchase this house without his assistance. We had a mortgage and closed in just a little over 2 weeks after we got him.

For the length of our mortgage - we're paying biweekly (applied monthly) and occasionally paying a little extra so that we can knock a few extra years off the mortgage.

 

[drum]

20 year

 

[Rage187]

On our 3rd year of a 15.