I realized something important for all of you who have automatic mortgage payments and also like to automatically pay down extra principal each month. It is don’t forget to adjust your mortgage autopay amount down when rates increase. When I refinanced a primary residence loan in 2019, I decided to get a 7/1 ARM at …
Adjust Your Extra Principal Automatic Mortgage Payment When Rates Rise Read More »
On August 1, 2020, I took out a 7/1 adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) at 2.125%. I could have gotten a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for 2.75%. However, I wanted to save 0.625% in interest. Years later, mortgage rates have zoomed higher thanks to the pandemic, massive stimulus spending, a war in Ukraine, a war in Israel, …
No Regrets Getting An ARM Despite Higher Mortgage Rates Read More »
Thanks to reader feedback, I realized one financial move that was not included in my top financial moves to relieve stress list, was paying off your home. Even though I thought long and hard about what to put on the list, paying off your home didn’t get a dedicated bullet point, just an add-on. For …
Paying Off Your Home May Not Provide The Joy You Expect Read More »
The higher your credit score, usually the lower your mortgage rate. Every time I went to apply for a new mortgage or refinance an existing mortgage, my mortgage lender would first ask for my credit score. If I said anything lower than a 720, they would politely tell me to look elsewhere. Before the 2008 …
Higher Credit Score Now Means Higher Mortgage Fees Or Rates Read More »
Why The Federal Reserve Does Not Control Mortgage Rates
In 2022, my wife and I paid off our vacation property mortgage after 15 years of ownership. Now that it’s been a while since we paid off the mortgage, I realized there is a triple benefit to paying it off early. I didn’t realize one of these benefits when we paid off another rental property …
The Triple Benefit Of Paying Off Your Mortgage Early Read More »
Given inflation and mortgage rates have gone up aggressively since August 2020, was getting an ARM back then a bad move? Maybe. But I’ll argue probably not. Let me reason why. One of the best things about running Financial Samurai is having readers criticize my financial beliefs and actions. So long as the criticism is …
Was Getting An ARM Before Inflation And Rates Went Up A Bad Move? Read More »
Paying off a mortgage with a negative real interest rate is a suboptimal financial move. However, that’s exactly what I did in this unusually high inflationary environment. Bad move? Maybe. My mortgage rate was a 30-year fixed at 4.25% and the latest inflation figure was 9.1%. Therefore, it had a negative real mortgage rate of …
Why Pay Off A Negative Real Mortgage Rate When Inflation Is So High Read More »
Imagine getting a $55,077 mortgage credit rather than paying a mortgage fee to get a new loan. A $55,077 mortgage credit was what I was quoted for a $4.125 million, 10/6 ARM at a 3.625% rate. Surely receiving a large credit is better than paying a mortgage fee right? Not necessarily. The higher the mortgage …
Why It’s Better To Pay A Small Mortgage Fee Than Get A Large Credit Read More »
House prices have cooled and will likely decline in some of the hottest markets. However, on my quest to get financing to conquer my real estate FOMO, I realized a positive datapoint for the U.S. housing market. Well-qualified borrowers are paying much lower mortgage rates than the headline rates you see in the news. There …
Well-Qualified Borrowers Are Paying Much Lower Mortgage Rates Read More »
