[QUOTE=Flash68;418769]You did just what millions of other people did, and at least you've hung on and been okay. Many did not make it as you know.

I've been happy renting for 5 years and am getting back in now.

FLASH..

Amen brother.. I am no Real Estate Guru, but even I knew what was coming.

I sold my luxury home in 2006 and rented for three years... I bought back in , February of 2009.

I changed my life forever.. I had enough to buy the Home and retire, all at once..

Many just missed ALL the signs..Frankly I don't know how they did. In the bay area is was easy to see the bubble..Homes just do not go up 20K a month...And when they crashed, they crashed 100K a month..

I hit the curve right at the bottom. my neighbor bought two month before me, and is over 100K underwater...The window was very narrow.

I always say, luck is the meeting of Preparation and opportunity..

Was I lucky ? I prepared for years for the moves that I made.

So to me too, investing Can be with your primary Home, but normally it is not..But 2008 was not normal at all..

Exactly. My 30 year @ 4% will never be paid off early... unless I hit the lottery and get Weld cash. :lol:

FLASH.

Even if I was to get more cash, I would never pay off my home early..And now I am looking at a property that I may purchase at 3.6 %APR. Another Luxury home and sell the McMansion at a profit..

With these rates, We should keep the loan for the full term...

Congrats on your timing...Again, I too planned my exit and my entry..

Sure I wish that I put it all in the market in February of 2009, but I put in a couple hundred grand from the Luxury home sale, and then put down enough on the Home to make the payment doable without any stress..

I knew the home prices would stay low, but I did not see the rates staying low, and even going lower.. So I did not get it all right..If I had seen the future, I would have made even more moves to secure my wealth, but we never know what is going to happen..

But we can sure plan it well if we are smart, patient, and not greedy..Also I sold the Luxury home normally, and I bought an REO..Now I am low balling a Short Sale luxury home just to see if I get it...It would give me more instant equity, but it is a long shot...

That's a whole nuther different batch of tens of millions of people who did that. :lol:

Right on Mike, you nailed it. :thumbsup:

I was lucky enough to unload a few at the right time myself. I also felt the dam was going to give way. I, like most, didn't think it would recede to the level it did. I figured I needed a place to live and I don't like moving that much. :unibrow: That decision cost me a cool 200k. My primary here was up to nearly 500k in 2006 and I sold it for 285k in 2010(25k more than I paid in 2003 not including improvements) to move into my current primary. I did have a 15 year note for most of the time so I was able to recover all the equity out of my back pocket and parlay it.

Looking back, I should have sold it when I made the choice to unload some investment properties. The old mentality that you need to own your home was faulty. You never lose on real estate right? Then you have the old adage that you don't default on a debt. I've seen so many people walk away or I've short sold their homes. Another reason to keep a 30 year note. If the **** hits the fan and you are forced to walk away, you aren't walking away from so much capital. I can honestly say I could walk away and not feel bad about it. I wouldn't like the consequences but sometimes it's a business decision.

[QUOTE=Bucketlist2012;418639]

..I am 52 with 27 years left on my loan..just like I want it....[/QUOTE


You've alluded that you are retired and apparently making this those payments from investment earnings. But I'm curious about the wisdom of being in this situation while working to make the payment. I'm 53 with roughly 23 years on my current 30 year mortgage, and I view it as having to work until age 76 if I want to keep the current house beyond retirement.

[QUOTE=billscamaros;418930]

I'm 59 years old this summer (August) and have 23 years left on a 30 year mortgage.... and I retired when I was 41....

The key is to keep your WIFE working 'til she's old and grey...

So I don't understand your question. :unibrow:

On a happier note -- those of you that own Banco Santander (STD) should see a nice pop in stock values with this news (which is what I've said all along - is that STD was suffering a decline in share price because it's painted with a broad brush of "spanish banks")....


Santander: EU Aid to Foster Completion of Bank-Sector Reforms
Published June 09, 2012
| Dow Jones Newswires
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Spain's Banco Santander SA (STD, SAN.MC), the country's largest lender by market value, said Saturday that Spain's plans to request up to EUR100 billion in aid from the European Union for its ailing banks should help complete the restructuring of the country's financial sector.
Santander said in a statement that the agreement by the Eurogroup enables Spain's state-backed Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring to "obtain funds in very favorable conditions.
"These funds will go toward recapitalizing those institutions that cannot meet their capital needs with their own resources," the bank added.
The capital injections will eliminate uncertainty and contribute to the country's economic recovery, it said.
Santander and chief local rival Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBVA, BBVA.MC) are among the local banks that won't require external financial assistance to meet required capital needs, according to International Monetary Fund assessments.

Greg, I know a little about how you became wealthy but I'd really like to hear your story from ground zero. It's one thing to strike it rich, it's another to keep it.

[QUOTE=billscamaros;418930]Bill

Maybe someone else can chime in, but you may want to refinance at today's rates, with a 15 year loan...Some 15 year loans are 2.9 right now.. That would put you at 68, but you may be able to pay it down sooner, or have additional income that could retire you at 65..With a paid off house..

Hope that helps...Yo Greg, any ideas ?

Mike

[QUOTE=Bucketlist2012;418934]That sounds like a great idea as long as he can swing the payment.