How long left on the mortgage ?

4.5 years for me, 54 months & about to start counting every month now.

If there is 'one number to rule them all' for me, it is the effect of my mortgage term on my financial planning - the subsequent month would initiate the timeframe that I would consider retirement. :thumbsup:

So this is a personal thread - i.e. looking forward to what's next for you after the end of that recurring payment.

15 year fixed mortgage that I took out 2 years ago. I owe roughly 6 years. Not bad for a 35 year old.

Paid our mortgage off in 2014 prior to retiring, but now we're having a new house built and will carry another mortgage for a few months. Then I'll pay it off with my house sale proceeds and be debt free again and living the good life.

Fish 14 said:

15 year fixed mortgage that I took out 2 years ago. I owe roughly 6 years. Not bad for a 35 year old.

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Bravo Fish! I had mine paid off in my 40s.. Word to wise.. Leave home paid off, don't take out any tempting second loans (-;

No mortgage/other. The neighborhood meeting hall/church property that my friend Mickey purchased in March, 2006 was given to me as a gift by his son and daughter who inherited it after he passed from Earth in March 2018. I just got done setting up my Trust a few days ago, so that the people who use the building that I selected as beneficiaries can take title to it immediately when I leave this planet, without having to go through probate.
I retired at age 46 in 2006 to assist with operating the two floor, 4326 square foot, masonry building. I was able to retire after working ten years in residential behavioral health, as facility manager at a state licensed facility and as night staff supervisor and behavioral health technician at a secure JCAHO facility.

A long ways off, like at least 20 years. Thanks for reminding me, in fact, I really need to check its situation with my manager.

I took out a 30 year loan at 47. Yikes!!

Reason for the 30 year term was in case times got tight I could revert to a much lower minimum payment. As a consultant it's feast or famine so it seemed better to be prepared for the famine time. However I have yet to have to make said minimum payment. I took out the loan near the bottom of the housing market crash so we got in at a great price. I'm down to about 8 years left if trends continue.

Word to the wise, always make extra principle payments. Even if you can only pay $20 or $30 a month extra. It is said 1 extra payment a year will cut the time of the loan in half. It actually cuts it by a about a third but even that beats the crap out of having the mortgage for the full term.

I'll probably never own a home, and here I am posting. It doesn't matter who says what... what matters is what is said.

People go broke owning their own home, the same home, for 30 years. The way to do it, mortgage or cash, is to get whatever you can initially, hopefully a bargain fixer upper. When/if your home increases in market value (for whatever reason, you fixed it up, landscaped and installed upgrades like a garage door opener, or, the main reason, population is increasing in your area), after a minimum of 2-3 years, sell that house, take the capital gains and find another house for that amount in an area you see that is increasing in population but the real estate market there has not yet reacted, live there minimum 2-3 years, or as long as it takes for the home to increase in value, sell it, repeat, repeat, repeat. No one gets rich earning a salary living in the same place unless you're a doctor or a very elite attorney working in oil and gas or something. This is how you get rich, through real estate, buying, living in, improving, and selling your own home. At some point, you buy 2 homes and rent one out. But you can only have one residence for the capital gains. Remember the game Monopoly? It's like that.

Sorry if my ignorance offends. I just want to see you guys do well.

Just refinanced at under 3% so have another 30 year mortgage after I already retired a few years ago. But really there's nothing wrong with a low interest mortgage or two for life: it offers a tax break, it spreads liability to multiple properties, and allows you to diversify your holdings so you can make money or not lose as much! Fires, floods, earthquakes, etc can be ruinous if you have all your eggs in one basket. Stocks, bonds, real estate, cash should all be in a balanced portfolio.

I bought at the right time in 2001 with a mortgage in a larger city, then 4 years later my house doubled in value. I then sold and moved from the city (pop 1M) to rural village (pop 380) buying a modest home for cash, paid of student loans, car loan and was completely debt free by my early 30's. It has been streass free financially for many many years.

1 more month and my 1/8 wide tralor is mine.it started off as a ford escort

LeanBurn said:

I bought at the right time in 2001 with a mortgage in a larger city, then 4 years later my house doubled in value. I then sold and moved from the city (pop 1M) to rural village (pop 380) buying a modest home for cash, paid of student loans, car loan and was completely debt free by my early 30's. It has been streass free financially for many many years.

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This is how it is done. Nice work, LeanBurn.