It's Mine!

[torchbearer]

Exactly, almost no one owns anything.

just reminding the serfs, they are still serfs.
and people should be upset about the fact they pour as this wealth into "owning" a home they never really own.

[Zippyjuan]

With interest rates at record lows, I would refinance it and by physical with the cash. You can get a 30 year fixed at 3% and the loan is even assumable by an approved buyer. After calculating true inflation the 3% loan is negligible. Just keep your balance at 78% Loan To Value to avoid PMI. If you ever get hard pressed to make a payment just sell some of the physical. The last thing in the world I would do is pay off a 3% home mortgage. Cheap money. Your loan balance will never increase but the value of your dollar is sure to decline. You will pay that loan back with devalued dollars.

Borrowing to invest in anything is a bad idea. Can you guarantee me at least a four percent a year or more return after taxes on metals for the next 15 or however many years you refinace for? Nope. Do that with money you won't necessarily need - not with your home.

If I was renting a comparable unit I would be paying about $1200 a month. Since I have purchased it, my costs drop to about $300 for homeowners fees and $150 property taxes or $450 a month- a savings of $750 every month or $9000 a year. I am sure lots of people would not mind having an extra $9000 a year. That is a huge increase in my after-tax income.

So basically invested in an asset for $110,000 plus interest over 13 years, am now getting $9000 a year in return on it every year into the future (money which would be paid in rent instead) and still own the asset which is still valued at over $150,000 or about 50% higher than what I bought it at (the current selling price of comparable units). I think I did pretty well and don't think there are many other investment opportunities which can offer this.

Compare those to what I would have gotten for renting instead of buying. $1200 a month is $14,400 a year. Over the time I spent paying off the loan (13 and a half years) , I would have paid out $194,400 anyways and had nothing left.