Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I hate asking my parents for stuff... but...

Mortgage rates are really low right now....

I am obviously not working now, so it's pretty clear there will be no one to give me a loan. For a long time I knew I was choosing between unemployment and a chance to refinance my home but the benefits of unemployment >> working again right now.


I have been receiving letters from all sorts of lenders trying to get me to refinance and finally gave in and asked dad if he would cosign because I think what's going on in Greece is obviously going to have an effect on rates in Euroland (who wants to lend and then have money printed... no one... it's called inflation). I think this in the short term has pushed people into US treasuries, and thus increasing bond prices and decreasing yields. Since mortages are priced off of treasuries it's driven mortgage rates down in the short term. However, I think it is going to be very bearish in the long run. I am afraid rates will be much higher, and possibly in the near future, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity to refinance my mortgage. So I gave in to common sense and asked my dad if he would put his name on my loan.

He obliged, which means I need to be in my house and have it as my primary residence when the loan closes, which might push back my plans to rent out the house a few weeks unless I can work out something with the guys who want to rent it, which honestly, shouldn't be that hard.

Anyway, the kicker is that the new mortgage on my humble abode will only be ~$400/month.... or about what it would cost to rent out a double wide trailer in the country...

But then when I consider the fact that it's (interest expense, taxes, insurance) tax deductible and rent is not, the effective monthly cost is closer to $250-$300 a month!

Hell yeah!

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