rachels.haven's Journal

farmerjan

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Hope you get the house sold quickly.

Now, none of my business, but a suggestion. With the VERY LOW interest rates, it would be to your advantage to finance the new barn, the size that you WANT, with the amenities you want.... because down the road if you do sell the place, something like that is a real selling point with people with animals... especially the horse crowd.... Your money isn't earning anything in the savings... and this gov't is going to destroy the economy with the taxes and inflation and then interest rates are going to start going up.
I am alot older than you, and I can tell you that in 1966 when my parents built the new house on the land my great grandmother gave my father, they paid interest rates of over 8% for the mortgage...savings accounts were making 3% interest or more.... daddy worked a 2nd job driving truck several nights a week for local runs from southwest CT to NYC delivering pepperidge farm bread..... and my mom went to work up the road at the local egg farm with only about 4,000 birds, candling eggs with my little sister able to come home from the bus there.... it was a small family operation that sold grade AA eggs to small little neighborhood stores... and they were lucky to get the mortgage, because the land was "paid for" ....Back then you made a whole lot less than today... I think minimum wage that I earned was 1.65......and mortgage rates went up in 70's and 80's to where there was a time that it hit in the 16% or more.

At this time, with mortgage rates at less than 3 %, you would be money ahead to finance it and then be able to put your disposable income away into some sort of safe savings... or invest in gold or silver.... because when the rates start to climb, and savings accounts are paying 5% interest...talking things like cd's that you can lock in.... you will be actually making money off your savings to pay the mortgage.....Can you imagine what it would be like in 2 years to have a 3% mortgage and the inflation rate has cause loan rates to go to 8-10%.... and you are sitting on money in the nest egg because you are actually saving money by having such a low interest mortgage...????

One reason that I have no intention to pay off my mortgage early as I was thinking to do when I took it. My rate is 2.875%..... Sure I will save the interest if I pay it off early, but should I need to borrow money for something in the future.... and the rates are up to 6 or 8 %... then the money I save with the low rate I am paying, is giving me more money to have in hand now... so I can save it even at a low savings interest rate, and then not have to borrow money at a higher rate down the road.

I hate owing money, and a long term mortgage is alot of interest, but in 5 years if I need money for something, I do not want to be faced with another loan at a much higher rate because I wanted to get this paid off sooner.

If I thought this was going to be a long time before rates were going to go up, then I would be pushing to make double payments on mine, now that I am not also paying rent and another electric bill.... but for right now, using someone else's money at this low rate makes more sense and to start stashing my "cash" for future projects. I get a few things done here, then I might start paying it off faster....
 

farmerjan

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I have reread my post and hope that you don't take offense... I certainly was not trying to "tell you what to do" and it sounds like you will be in pretty good shape if you get the other place sold, to be able to hopefully pay off what you owe on this place within a couple years or less.
I just have a bad feeling about the future, with inflation and such.... and that if you could get the barn built now on "cheap" borrowed money, then you would have the place you want and then could stash money away as you mentioned wanting to have a nest egg or cushion....
And sometimes the interest deduction off the taxes might help with the tax bracket and make it even more sensible to put off paying it off...
That is one of the reasons I want to get my taxes and homeowners ins out of the escrow.... it earns me NOTHING in there, and then with the screwup with the tax payment, I am getting the short end of the deal if only for a little while....
I can earn 1.5% in my checking account for pete's sake.... not much but I am getting nothing now....if inflation starts to increase as it will have to, I want that money sitting in my account not theirs.
 

rachels.haven

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Oh no, no offense taken. If I seem short it's probably just the heat wave. We've had similar conversations with DH's father, weighing the pros and cons of that and other options. We're just holed up in the basement together trying not to bake right now.
The showings on the house start today, I believe the offer deadline is next Tuesday and we will be thinking plenty about the exact plan of attack. Input is welcome.
Being the (minor) rebel I am, I think I'd really only be offended if you were trying to make us follow your instructions or berating rather than offering advice. No worries.
 

rachels.haven

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Yep, we wound up 95-99 supposedly since Saturday with the same humidity. Swimming in soup. We traded ac for a more kid friendly house. We may fix that eventually.

I'm typing with a migraine here so I'll try to keep it short and clear rather than migraine fogged, but it appears Google maps is reporting my disaster LGD puppy, Badger's breeder's farm as being "permanently closed". Their website says similar. I can't believe it, but it appears they are gone. I wonder if covid got them, or if they causes a disaster in someone's home, they ran out of money, or just tried to intimidate the wrong people. But it doesn't matter. Hopefully no one got too hurt.
 

rachels.haven

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Well, today tanked fast.
Animal control came. Apparently neighbors are calling daily when Bailey is letting out so much as a peep (our windows are open all night). We are not allowed to leave our dog outside at night. She is not allowed to bark. It is apparently not an LGD's job here. We are obligated to put up electric fence to protect our property. We are not allowed to leave her outside unless we register as a farm. We can not register as a farm unless we have an income of over $500 if memory serves. We have made no money here because we have been here for a month.
I get to put my goats and dog up at night in the dangerous, groaning, leaking barn and pray no one goes after me for my "outside pet" until we've made whatever amount.
 
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