Last mortgage check in the mail

[martyp]

I used to think that I couldn't or wouldn't retire before my mortgage was paid off. Of course that's one of those nonsense arbitrary numerical milestones we erect when we plan or think about ER. I eventually used my 55th birthday for my ER date. However, 2.5 yrs later, is still is sweet to send off the last mortgage check. We bought one house and have lived here 30 yrs just like we w*rked for one employer for 30 yrs. Both of those were factors in our being able to ER.

 

[ziggy29]

I used to think that I couldn't or wouldn't retire before my mortgage was paid off. Of course that's one of those nonsense arbitrary numerical milestones we erect when we plan or think about ER. I eventually used my 55th birthday for my ER date. However, 2.5 yrs later, is still is sweet to send off the last mortgage check. We bought one house and have lived here 30 yrs just like we w*rked for one employer for 30 yrs. Both of those were factors in our being able to ER.

Congratulations -- that $X per month on the mortgage is now $X per month less that you need to live on in retirement. And with the graduated income tax and the coming PPACA exchange/subsidy mechanism (if one doesn't have employer-provided retiree insurance), preparing for retirement by reducing your income needs becomes almost as important as increasing your income available in some cases.

 

[Calico]

Congratulations!! That's a real accomplishment. I'm looking forward to that same feeling in a few years.

 

[redduck]

I used to think that I couldn't or wouldn't retire before my mortgage was paid off. Of course that's one of those nonsense arbitrary numerical milestones we erect when we plan or think about ER. I eventually used my 55th birthday for my ER date. However, 2.5 yrs later, is still is sweet to send off the last mortgage check. We bought one house and have lived here 30 yrs just like we w*rked for one employer for 30 yrs. Both of those were factors in our being able to ER.

Congratulations. And, everything you wrote in your post is impressive (and has a really good feeling to it).

 

[Ready]

Congratulations! I felt the same way about not wanting to retire while I had a mortgage. It's somewhat arbitrary, but it feels great to have so much lower expenses before you give up the paycheck. You will sleep very well at nights being mortgage free!

 

[retire2020]

Congrats Marty! I know how it feels. I've been mortgage free for almost twelve years but high property taxes(12K/yr) makes me feel like I'm renting my own place.

New Loan 8/11/1998 - 207K
PAID in FULL 8/24/2001 - Last payment was 12.5K

 

[W2R]

Woo-hoo!!

What a huge difference that can make in one's expenses! Congratulations.

 

[martyp]

Congrats Marty! I know how it feels. I've been mortgage free for almost twelve years but high property taxes(12K/yr) makes me feel like I'm renting my own place.

I guess I should also mention that I live in CA. Prop 13 has kept my property taxes down. Another good reason to stay in the same place for 30 yrs.

 

[martyp]

What a huge difference that can make in one's expenses! Congratulations.

There is a flip side to owning the same place for 30 yrs. The price of my home was $118k back in 1983. So while the mortgage was a significant amount it is still relatively small by today's standards. Still . . . it will be a nice boost.

 

[scrabbler1]

Paying off my mortgage back in 1998 after only 9 years was a big step toward my being to switch to working part-time 3 years later then ERing 7 years after that. I had a 1-year ARM and the interest rate was rising in the mid-1990s so I was glad to get rid of the whole loan and lower my monthly expenses. Use your newly "found" money well, Martyp!

 

[almost there]

Got rid of mine a dozen yrs ago.
Great feeling. Its something you will never miss.
As far as the write off goes, that too is way over blown.
Congrats!

 

[chilkoot]

Congratulations! I recently retired, paid off the mortgage, and started collecting a pension. If anyone bothers to ask, I would say that paying off the mortgage has made the biggest difference, percentage-wise, in peace of mind.

 

[ohyes]

Congratulations!

That must feel great!

 

[jollystomper]

Congratulations! We hope to be there ourselves one day.

 

[rodi]

Congratulations.
I hope to join you in the mortgage free club early next year when DH retires. (Or when I retire. Might do it sooner if I get laid off - use the lump sum severance to instantly reduce our expenses. (We have other cash flow that I'll divert from paying *down* the mortgage to living expenses if that happens.)

 

[davismills]

Bravo!

 

[FIREd]

Congratulations! I love being debt-free and I am sure you will too.

 

[nwsteve]

Congrats on your "new beginning--life without a mortgage"

Suggest you also make a reminder for yourself to confirm you receive (say 3 months from date of payment) from whoever actually holds your mortgage a formal "release of deed on trust" for your property. The release should have been also recorded with the county where the property is located. If the release does not show evidence of recording, I personally would send for recording myself.
With all the sale and resale of mortgage paper, many banks want to duck the effort to actually complete the re-transmittal of clear title.
Nwsteve

 

[Al in Ohio]

Don't it feel great? Wait til you get your release paper back. It will feel even better.

 

[martyp]

Congrats on your "new beginning--life without a mortgage"

Suggest you also make a reminder for yourself to confirm you receive (say 3 months from date of payment) from whoever actually holds your mortgage a formal "release of deed on trust" for your property. The release should have been also recorded with the county where the property is located. If the release does not show evidence of recording, I personally would send for recording myself.
With all the sale and resale of mortgage paper, many banks want to duck the effort to actually complete the re-transmittal of clear title.
Nwsteve

Good advice. Thanks.

 

[brett]

Congratulations.

Enjoy that special freedom you feel when you are not longer beholden to the bank or the mortgage company. Those first few months when you no longer have to make payments sure feel good.

 

[ER Eddie]

That's a good feeling, isn't it. It's not just that you have that mortgage payment to save, invest, or spend. It's that you feel more financially independent. The house is really yours.

 

[Walt34]

Suggest you also make a reminder for yourself to confirm you receive (say 3 months from date of payment) from whoever actually holds your mortgage a formal "release of deed on trust" for your property. The release should have been also recorded with the county where the property is located. If the release does not show evidence of recording, I personally would send for recording myself.
With all the sale and resale of mortgage paper, many banks want to duck the effort to actually complete the re-transmittal of clear title.
Nwsteve

+1 on that.

When we paid off our house in 2000 the note holder, who had bought it from the local bank that originally made the loan, was very slow to do that. The second note holder had recently been bought by a third, larger bank, and I had to keep hounding them for several months to get the title cleared. Finally I lucked out and contacted an intelligent lady at the bank who told me she'd found the paperwork in a box stored in a hallway.

Sure glad I wasn't in a hurry to sell the house at the time! I kept after it in part because we knew we were going to sell in about two years and I wanted the title cleared.

The longer you wait the harder it is going to be to get them to find the paperwork.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Good for you marty! What a good feeling it is to have a house paid for. You should really sleep good tonight.

 

[scrabbler1]

+1 on that.

When we paid off our house in 2000 the note holder, who had bought it from the local bank that originally made the loan, was very slow to do that. The second note holder had recently been bought by a third, larger bank, and I had to keep hounding them for several months to get the title cleared. Finally I lucked out and contacted an intelligent lady at the bank who told me she'd found the paperwork in a box stored in a hallway.

Sure glad I wasn't in a hurry to sell the house at the time! I kept after it in part because we knew we were going to sell in about two years and I wanted the title cleared.

The longer you wait the harder it is going to be to get them to find the paperwork.

I was somewhat amazed that when I paid off the mortgage on my co-op apartment the key paperwork from the original closing (i.e. original stock certificate) never got lost. My mortgage had changed hands 4 times in 9 years - the original holder went bankrupt so it went to the RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation) then it got sold to another company then I Refi'd it then that company sold it to another company. But everything was there, miraculously. I had to file a special form with the county clerk after I received the final documents but that all went well.

Contrast that with my friend who bought his co-op apartment in late 2011. That bank quickly sold it to another bank but when in early 2012 he needed a copy of the stock certificate to apply for a state property tax rebate (he never got even a copy of it at the closing like I did with mine), it took him a few weeks to track one down, getting the runaround from both banks and his stupid managing agent.