Signed, sealed and delivered! Finally!

[CaptainHaplo]

A few of you know that I (and a few other members) have/were house hunting. I closed on my new home at noon yesterday, and will be moving in this weekend. It truly took forever to find the right place, but I now have it. It needs minor cosmetic work inside, nothing some paint, drywall and a few reframings won't fix. I can't wait to start working on it - and that says something.....

So if your still in your own hunt - don't despair. The right one will come - and you might go through a lot to make the deal happen. But keep searching.

For those of you that know the sense of a burden removed once its all done - I envy you no more. Well, except the fact your already moved in. :up:

[Sailor Steve]

WOOHOO! :rock:

Of course those of us forever condemned to live in low-rent apartments are green with envy, but I'm sure that doesn't bring you down at all. :O:

Congratulations! :sunny:

[eddie]

Congrats are in order!:yeah:

[TarJak]

Congratulations. Nothing beats laying down big bucks for something like a house, even if most of it belongs to the bank. May your mortgage be small and short lived.:woot:

[u crank]

:woot:

Congratulations Capt. There's no place like your own place.

Now get to work. :D

[Jimbuna]

Congratulations :sunny:

[Wolferz]

And now the real fun begins.:D

Congrats.:yeah:

[vanjast]

House hunting can be a mission.... but luckily for us we actually never looked for the 3 houses that we've been through - the 'houses came to us' :D.
Estate agent called the inlaws, inlaws had a look then called us.
All 3x we were surprised as we were not actually looking, and then just said.. 'We'll buy it'.

We must have been nuts most of the time, but the frenzied activity thereafter was a mission, but all has worked out OK.

The best advice I can give in this regard...
On your Bond/Mortgage, pay 10% more than you have to.
As on a 20/30 year mortgage, you actually end up paying 2x-3x the price of the house. 10% extra will approximately halve your repayment period.
You literally save 10+ years of repayments = another house = Lots of $$$.

All of the 3 houses that we bought, the wife and I threw everything extra into the payments. We only had an old shot TV, no audio deck, 2/3rd hand cars, but we cleared our mortgages within 4 - 5 years. Now we're sitting pretty. The Banks don't like you doing this and will try to discourage you as they make lots of lolly from loans. Show them the 'magic finger'.. it's your money and you can do with it what you like. :)
:up:

[Onkel Neal]

Awesome, my favorite kind of thread. To steal a phrase from Steve, those of us living in uninsulated shipping containers are jealous :O:. Need pics and a development plan.

[Wolferz]

Awesome, my favorite kind of thread. To steal a phrase from Steve, those of us living in uninsulated shipping containers are jealous :O:. Need pics and a development plan.


A la Frau K?:D

[Aktungbby]

And now the real fun begins.:D

Congrats.:yeah:

Indeed! the termite crew is arriving tomorrow to do a $1700 job all round the perimeter and crawlspace. The roof estimate, under-eave paint...and a new stove is in the works-the chief cook's been grumbling "no joy"!:O: Just replaced the dispose-all and faucet in the main bath myself to cut corner$! There is an upside! only 10 more years to go on my 4% fixed mortgage and my bli$$ will be $ublime-by which time a reverse mortgage should cover the next property I'll own...in the local cemetery!??:dead: Seriously though: welcome to THE AMERICAN DREAM:up: it's what really keeps the economy going:sunny:

[TarJak]

Another little mortgage trick is to shift to a fortnightly repayment schedule. This means you make one whole extra monthly repayment each year shortening the term significantly.

[Onkel Neal]

A la Frau K?:D

Exactly, that thread was awesome!

[swamprat69er]

Congrats! If you have the option of a 10% balloon payment on the yearly anniversary of the mortgage, take advantage of it. That 10% will come directly off the principal. That is 10% of the original mortgage price.

[Wolferz]

Gee Haplo,
With everybody offering advice on mortgage payment,
Time to solicit donations and watch them all run?:O::D

[Jimbuna]

Bloody glad I've no longer got a mortgage but a lot of good advice on here...paying back as much and as often as you can obviously equates to less in interest payments.

[swamprat69er]

My mortgage was amortized over 25 years and I paid it off in 15 using the advise here.

[Wolferz]

My mortgage was amortized over 25 years and I paid it off in 15 using the advise here.

That's killing it bud dy.:yeah: