I just paid off my home equity loan and my house is now mine mine mine

[jpak]

[CottonBear]

1. Congratulations!

[spooky3]

2. Congratulations!!!!

[UpInArms]

3. Well done!

[thinkingagain]

4. Yippee!!!

That has got to feel awesome!

[applegrove]

5. Woohoo!

[magicarpet]

6. Congratulations,... Now where is the bank going to live ?

[jpak]

11. LOL!

I bought it with cash ($32K) and used the loan to update wiring and windows.

Property taxes are less than $900 a year.

1/2 acre, big veg garden, fruit trees and a grape arbor.

I can walk to the post office and supermarket.

Best thing I ever did

[Archae]

20. Where abouts is the house?

Sounds like a near-perfect place to live.

[jpak]

25. Central Maine

30 miles from the Sugarloaf ski area

[OAITW r.2.0]

49. Around Farmington?

I cam see Sugarloaf from my back porch....50 miles as the crow flies.

[jpak]

53. A little northeast from there

And my $19 a month Medicare Part D pays $200 for my season ticket there.

Hee hee

[SweepPicker]

7. Congrats!!

[IrishAfricanAmerican]

8. Congrats!

[FalloutShelter]

9. Awesome!

ENJOY!

[CousinIT]

10. CONGRATS! I'm waiting to win the vaccine lottery so I can pay my mortgage off. . .

. . . likely won't happen (I never win ANYTHING), but I can dream!

Gonna have a party? Or, at least pop some bubbly stuff?

[DFW]

12. That has to be a burden lifted from your shoulders!

Now all you have is property taxes!

[jpak]

28. Less than $900 a year

It's got a fireplace and a big passive solar sunporch that heats the entire house on sunny winter days.

Even in the single digits outside.

[DFW]

37. That's fabulous!

My sister and her husband are in New Jersey, work in entertainment jobs in NYC, have been out of work for almost a year and a half. The NJ property taxes are eating them alive.

[brush]

40. Sounds like you've got a wonderful set-up, everything covered.

Enjoy that little patch of paradise.

[soldierant]

69. And insurance.

It may not be required if you own outright, but I can certainly recommend it.

[DFW]

75. I don't see any way around that

I think you need that anywhere

[soldierant]

80. No one will give you a loan without it.

If you can't or won't get it, th lender will "force place" which covers only the structure, and is thus about a third of a regular policy, and coes at aboue three times the price.

But I'm aware of no law which requires a homeowner to carry insurance. It's required only by lenders.

I don't say it would be smart not to have it - it wouldn't.

[DFW]

81. I have never bought a house in the USA, so I wouldn't know

In Germany my wife took care of the details, since she knew all the ropes. and understood more of the legalese. I assume insurance companies are the same everywhere: charge double what you think you can get away with, and pay out nothing unless you fear a judgment against you if you don‘t.

[soldierant]

82. Well, not the ones I worked for.

I don't say all agents are angels - they aren't - but the idustry is highly regulated here and most of us do have ethics.

[DFW]

83. My only experiences are with American health insurance

United and Blue Cross. They deny virtually every claim. They take a hint fron John Grisham‘s „Great Benefit.“

[soldierant]

84. Well, there you have a point.

There is "Property and Casualty" insurance, and then there is "Life and Health" insurance. But even life insurance can't come close to health insurance for sheer venality. Wendell Potter has written a fair amount on this, and he was in a position to know (and is now an activist.)

Some life companies now write life, property, and casualty, and wo't touch health. Health insurance is the changeling in the insurance family.

I only worked in Property and Casualty myself.

[DFW]

85. I have no experience there

I know I have a life insurance policy that my parents set up when I was an infant. I get statements from them, but since I made my wife the beneficiary some 35 years ago, I haven‘t paid much attention to it. If I remember correctly, I could cash it out for $70,000 or die and my wife gets $150,000. Something like that, anyway. Even if I live another ten years, I couldn‘t survive on $7000 a year, and if a piano falls on me while walking in New York City. I won‘t be around to care what my wife does with her money anyway.

I figure more would not make much sense. What would be the yearly premium on a new $1 million dollar life insurance policy for a 69 year old guy with a history of heart trouble? $50,000? Double or triple that? Not even worth discussing.

[jpak]

76. Got insurance

Had to to get the loan.

It's not a burden and is peace of mind.

[soldierant]

79. "It's not a burden and is peace of mind."

Amen! Thank you for saying it so well.

[brewens]

13. I won't ever be able to say that, but next month I will be able to pay all my debt off. I might not

quite get it all, but I could swing it. Congratulations on the home.

[viva la]

14. Champagne for all!

What a relief. It's yours forever now.

[onecaliberal]

15. Good for you!

[barbtries]

16. that's great!

I started too late and will die with a mortgage, but hopefully enough equity to leave something substantial for my children.

[MissB]

17. Congrats!!!

Happy for you!

[CrispyQ]

18. Congratulations! !

It's a great feeling!

[Hekate]

19. It's a great feeling, isn't it?

[Mme. Defarge]

21. Formidable!

🎇🥂🍾🎇

[wryter2000]

22. Wow

Mega-congratulations. That’s an awesome achievement

[AllaN01Bear]

23. yay.

[secondwind]

24. Oh what a wonderful feeling!!!

I

[machoneman]

26. Great! Now, get a clear title in writing and get the bank/loan co. to issue a "paid-up" letter.

Preserve same in a safe place of course. Also, get your survey docs in order and place it in the same place.

[jpak]

29. Great ideas!

Thanks!

[multigraincracker]

27. Now you can pay yourself every month.

Never need a loan again. I did that and invested that money in boring, high quality stock that pay a dividend. Extra $500 a month income. Plus I can cash in 5% of the stock every year and still gain on the principal. Been retired for going on 20 years now and living good.
Congrads to you.

[localroger]

30. Congrats. Feels great don't it?

Paid off my mortgage 20 years early in 2001. Still have about $800/year in property tax which pisses my wife off to no extent -- it's gone up in value and no longer totally covered by the homestead exemption -- but houses like mine are renting for $1300+/month in this neighborhood. Gives me a bit extra breathing room when wondering whether to risk pissing off the boss.

[alfredo]

34. I hate property taxes but they keep our schools open.

[localroger]

62. I agree

Even though I totally forgot to reproduce myself, I do understand that the next generation needs to be educated.

[alfredo]

72. Same here

[zeusdogmom]

31. Congratulations to you!

It is such a good feeling to own the home free and clear. Makes a huge difference in the monthly budget - at least it did when my mortgage was paid off.

[murielm99]

32. Great feeling, isn't it?

After we paid ours off, we set money aside for home improvements. We have not borrowed any money for those. The last project was new siding. We are nearly there for a new kitchen!

You are free free free.

[alfredo]

33. Feels great doesn't it.

I lucked out. My uncle died and left me money. I retired on disability, and I cashed in my stock portfolio. I was left with $500 in the bank but with a steady income and no debt. Been retired for 20 years, and if I hadn’t paid off the house, I’d still be carrying a mortgage.

Did you burn your payment book?

[SheltieLover]

35. Congrats!

[Generic Brad]

36. Great feeling - Isn't it?

Proud of you!

[George II]

38. Congratulations. Good job. It's a great feeling.

[skydive forever]

39. I remember

I remember that day. What a wonderful day. Go have dinner, you’ve earned it. 😀😀

[onethatcares]

41. every 2nd of the month

you can tell you're SO that "hey, I didn't pay the mortgage this month".

It is a great feeling.

I'm two years into no mtg payments and yes, IT FEELS GREAT.

congratulations

[airplaneman]

42. Feels great doesn't it. I did this about 6 years ago. n/t.

[paleotn]

43. That's fantastic! Congrats!

[Joinfortmill]

44. Congratulations!

[jmbar2]

45. Woot Woot Woot!

Well done!

[Stuart G]

46. Congratulations!!!!

[sellitman]

47. Congratulations

Ours will be paid off in November. Can't wait. Of course this is going to be the second time.

[BumRushDaShow]

48. Fantastic!!!

yup.

[Yorkie Mom]

50. Congratulations!

This is awesome!!

[BlueIdaho]

51. Isn't that a great feeling?

Well done you!

[COL Mustard]

52. Congratulations!!!

👍🏾

[peppertree]

54. Kudos!

Here's to you!

[malaise]

55. Celebrate

[Aristus]

56. Congratulations!

I’m happy for you!

[calimary]

57. Hurray hurray hurray!!!

Congratulations!

[yonder]

58. Congratulations! Best feeling in the world, eh?

All of the sudden your personal world opens up somewhat. We paid ours off in 2009, right in the thick of that tough recession - great timing for us.

[BadGimp]

59. Congrats!

and right at the time when home values are peaking...

[Demovictory9]

60. wow...congrats

[Wolf Frankula]

61. Now you can go to a mortgage company, get an equity loan.

Use your house as a cash machine, and go to Las Vegas and play big shot.

Wolf

[bucolic_frolic]

63. You will find out soon enough that you don't own your house

Your house owns you!

[Richluu]

64. Doesn't it feel good?!

We did that too. Its so nice to have that debt gone!

[Bucky]

65. Congrats. May I ask you how many years it took you?

[jpak]

66. 4 years

I doubled up on payments and used tax refunds.

I wanted it paid off before I started collecting SSI.

[Bucky]

77. Wow!

That's very fast and very smart and very efficient. Good work!

[Niagara]

67. Congrats!

[Hoosier]

68. Congrats!

I'm not an expert on Maine's property tax situation ... really suggest you read up on it.

Some states (like here in Indiana) allow for different types of exemptions from sections of property taxes if the house is where you reside and/or if you have a mortgage filed against it. If the loan you just paid off is a home equity line of credit, then you probably should keep the line open. Even if it has an annual fee it is a small price to pay for the availability of $$$ if needed and the possible reduction in your property taxes.

And, I'm really happy for you!

Cheers from Indiana!

[TheBlackAdder]

70. Cool!

[a kennedy]

71. Ok, now let's talk price......whatcha selling it for??? 😂 🤣 😂

Kidding….so happy for you.

[whistler162]

73. Hmmmm.. those shingles look a little worn

and that driveway looks rough!

[Fla Dem]

74. Congrats! I did the same about 3 years ago, Great feeling of freedom and achievement!

[Ocelot II]

78. Nice feeling, isn't it?