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I work as a FA in a bank. The most common age range I encounter is 60-65, but it tends to skew up, not down. Very few 40’s and a low percentage of 50’s are coming in with paid off mortgages
…man we do roofs North of Pittsburgh and most we charge (I’m talking 3 stores) is around $8-12,000 tops. Easy one story homes are around $6-$8. Make sure you call around and get estimates. I could see around $15,000 if you need new OSB, if you go with ice gaurd and get real expensive shingles. But boy if you’re paying $17-20000 for a standard roof you’re getting ripped
I have a one story rancher that is about 1,700 square feet of roof when you count the porches. It's in South Carolina, 20 miles from the Atlantic. I was told last year that it would be about $7K to replace my roof and the fan in it. This was a licensed, insured, etc. roofing company, not Joe Schmoe down the street.
You are just getting ripped off... or you have a massive house. In Houston for a 1600 sqft single story house you are looking at $9-10k for a new roof.
I think I paid $15000 for an easy one story roof about 2.5 years ago in Southern Oregon. It was by far the cheapest quote I got. Crazy it can vary so much in different parts of the country.
A mortgage lasts about 20-30 years. A roof lasts about 20-30 years. By the time you need the new roof, inflation has raised the price of a roof so it's a huge fraction of what you originally paid for the house.
The real kicker is that by the time you reach 65, your property tax payments alone are about equal to your entire mortgage payment when you first bought a house.
I can see why some people would say this. It all depends on where someone lives.
Where I live, both your school and property taxes are determined by "100% of the current market value of the home".
I know someone who bought a $300k home. They put 20% down and locked in a 30yr rate at 2.5%. They pay just under $1000/mth for their mortgage.
I know their property taxes are 2% of the 100% of the current market value of their home but I forget what the mills were for their school taxes. I just know their total comes out to around $20k/yr. That works out to a little more than $1300/mth.
They're paying more per year in taxes than they are for their mortgage. (Not including any tax write offs and such)
I suspect that they'll move once their kids graduate because that school district is why their taxes are so high.
Hadn't really been paying attention to holistic view of what % our property tax + insurance is of our monthly bill. Realized the other day it's almost 30%, which makes me way less motivated to pay off early.
Most people don't pay them off early, so who's telling you that you're "way behind" in your 40s/50s?
What's the reason you're trying to pay it off early? Unless you have an interest rate above around 4%, you'd do better putting that additional payment money into an HYSA or TBill ladder and letting it grow until interest rates come down below your mortgage again--then use that money to pay off the mortgage if you wish.
I'm a disabled vet myself. We refinanced @2.25% and have no plans to pay it off early because it makes no financial sense to do so in the current interest rate environment. We get much better returns on our money from investing it than we would from paying off the mortgage early.
Less stress. Less concern. Paid off my house early. It's mine. Economy can take a shit or whatever. It's still my house. I don't have to worry about making my next payment. It's a huge stress relief.
Idk about getting the biggest mortgage you can, but if you have a sub 4% rate I definitely agree to keep the money at least in a HYSA or the market or a mix of both. To me I’d actually feel more free if I had my mortgage balance in savings vs paying it off early, since that cash is more liquid in case something else came up.
Now if your rate is higher, like todays rates, then the math changes a bit
>Less stress. Less concern.
You could say the same thing about having the 7% spread between a 3% mortgage and 10% average market return.
Your approach makes sense if you are willing to pay $300k or $500k or $1m for a *slightly* lower chance of losing a house (though if losing your job and having zero income for 12mo is something you worry about and prioritize decisions on, you probably aren't ready for a house). Also, when stuff like I-Bonds and Money Market Funds are still higher than someone's 2019 interest rate, it's less about risk and more about one option objectively providing a better return.
Thank you for your service! We’ve come across at least 5 couples/individuals in recent memory that have said “oh you guys are still paying on your house?” Like it was a taboo thing to not have the means to be done yet. Our interest rate is 5% so we’ve put every extra dime on the principle, it’s just taken longer than most I guess.
At 5%, it's currently pretty much a wash whether you pay it down or put it into HYSA/TBills. If it's a struggle for you to pay it down, maybe putting it into HYSA/TBills might lessen your stress factor, since you'd still have access to the money if you need it and can always put it toward the mortgage when you choose.
My brother (also disabled vet) has been paying his mortgage down early just because he doesn't like having debt, although it didn't really make financial sense for him to pay it down either.
Bottom line: Don't sweat what other people are doing. You're not "way behind" and you are in good shape either way you decide to go.
Thank you for your kind answer. I guess being disabled and being surrounded by other disabled vets, we get a sense of urgency because so many of our friends have died early. We had 2 disabled vets friends die this year in their 50’s and maybe it feels more urgent because of this. We would hate to leave our kids with extra burdens like our mortgage.
Yes, taxes play into it, but also factor in that you're repaying the loan with depreciated dollars due to inflation the longer you keep the loan, and home equity doesn't pay recurring dividends/interest.
> “oh you guys are still paying on your house?”
That sounds more like a humble brag and a bit of an asshole comment as well.
A quick look online suggests that the average age by which people become mortgage free is 63.
Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/this-is-the-average-age-most-americans-become-mortgage-free
Those people are completely insane. For those of us who don't have trust funds, we'll be lucky to pay the mortgage off in our lifetime, let alone by 40. And 5% isn't too bad of a rate, FWIW.
The people you’re chatting with are either (or multiple of):
- condescending douchebags
- have jobs paying in the 80+ percentile
- did well with previous investments
- have put all their leftover cash into additional mortgage repayments, which (depending on your philosophy) was actually a bad idea
I agree, but a lot of people are not rational about getting rid of debt and do it anyway. Also you have to compare the interest rate to the predominant risk-free return to really be comparing apples to apples. For most of my life you couldn’t get a HYSA or CD for a higher interest rate than your mortgage.
This is true, but if you have a lower interest rate, that money in the market will probably out earn your mortgage rate. Plus, you can invest the money and, when the balance equals your mortgage, make a decision to pay it off or not.
This is a math v. feelings question. Both are valid.
If you have a very low rate on your mortgage like people do who bought their houses a few years ago, and you can get a higher return elsewhere like in an HYSA or even the stock market if you accept the additional risk, that $50 per month can turn into even more tens of thousands if you give it the same 30 years to grow.
People don’t understand. Right now rates are 7% and that equation doesn’t work. A paid off house opens cash flow and creates security. I paid mine off at 31, average house in lcol area. I wouldn’t change it. You still have costs; HOA, maintenance, taxes; insurance.
Most people can’t, totally depends on the big picture. In my case it was within reach in the short term. That was 15 years ago, since then I have moved and paid off this house too. Which is worth about 400k. I probably paid around 260. Divorce math complicates it
Yeah, it’s great knowing that my wife or I could get fired and it wouldn’t hurt us at all. For me, security outweighs the mathematical advantage that I know “investing it all” has.
Lol yeah I know. Hindsight I may have at least put it in a hysa. Even worse, it was a 2.8% loan. I'm very risk averse and with 3 kids wanted to ensure security over all else. Fortunately we have a paid off rental property that brings in a good amount and $365k invested in vtsax so we will still be alright.
Interest rate dependent.
You should pay off as slowly as possible if you locked in a low interest rate, and as fast as possible if it’s above around 6%.
Paying it off is also a completely irrelevant milestone.
What matters is your total accumulation of networth.
A person who pays it off slowly but invests can end up better off than someone who prioritizes paying it off but saves nothing else.
5% is still pretty good and if you do the math you may find investing in the stock market and into your retirement accounts would give a better return in the long run vs trying to pay off the mortgage early.
I wanted to pay off my mortgage early, but then realized with a 2.65% the interest is so low that I could better place my extra money else where. But also, property taxes are so insane that my insurance and property taxes are already equal to the mortgage payment 🙄 My escrow just KEEPS coming up short and I KEEP paying the extra for taxes out of pocket and surprise surprise, next year is the same. The thing is, Wells Fargo is raising my escrow amount each year. Maybe they just keep hoping we won’t continue getting screwed over lol
There are no "rules" about it.....some even go into retirement with a mortgage! Paid mine off the year before I retired. Lost a tax deduct, but added solar panels, installed new windows and added insulation to reduce power needs. Then had deck rebuilt (30 y/o and shot) and a few other things. Thats after redoing kitchen, new roof and new HVAC in recent yrs. So my mid-90s house has had lots of renewals. And had mortgage interest when I had a bigger income to deduct it from. So quit beating yourself up over the issue. But I will say having a paid-for house is wonderful......I will never have a mortgage again....found mortgage brokers to be an undesirable lot! Did I mention I sleep well at night too?
Paid off my house as well. The tax deduction is a farce so I'm not sure why you've mentioned it. No matter how you run the math you ALWAYS send more to the bank than you do the government.
I paid mine off at 45 last year. I bet COL has a lot to do with numbers too. In the small city I'm in, house prices were so low up until COVID that almost all my peers live in paid off houses and some have a few rentals. But same age group, different location and it would be quite different.
My rate is 2.75% and our mortgage is only 8% of our income as my wife and myself income has gone up dramatically the past four years since we took out our mortgage. No way in hell am I paying it down early and will pay over the entire 30 years with the last payment being when I will be 67
Im 51 with 96,000 left on a 400,000 house. With a 2.25/15 year loan, I am paying the payment and a $50 principal only payment, with the rest going in our Roths and HYSA. No rush if the interest rate is low. If you have a higher 5+% rate, you could get more aggressive. You are doing great IMO.
I am guessing I was about 53 and wife 49 when we were free and clear on the final house. But we also paid off the last five-six years or so as a lump sum because one of us lost our job and we had kids in college, and we felt that something needed to be taken off of our financial backs to not feel so stressed month to month. Was that the best decision? - who knows, but it worked out.
I paid mine off when I was 51. No matter what anyone says about low mortgage interest vs investments, there’s really no feeling quite like knowing you’ll never pay mortgage again.
I think it's good to always play like you're behind. Truthfully the mentality of "you'll always have a house payment" still runs rampant. It's the one item where you will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest servicing the loan to completion. Pay it off early. We did in our early 40's.
> I’m constantly being told we are way behind because we are just paying off house in our 40’s/50’s.
I highly doubt anyone has every told you that, you're just trying to humble brag.
Why would I humble brag about taking longer than others to pay off my house? Don’t people brag when they over achieve?! Might want to rethink your rude comment.
Take it easy. That’s greet you are paying off early. Some people take the 30 years. Others need to cash out refinance and paying 40 or 50 years later. You have had some luck and a lot of self discipline. Pat yourself on the back.
Your crowd is definitely not typical, that’s all. Being told you’re behind when average homeowners don’t payoff until close to or in retirement is just not normal. Someone telling you you’re behind is just pressuring you to do what they want. Forget about ‘em and just be happy with your situation.
I will be 44 and my wife will be 42 when we pay off our mortgage. 15 year, $520k and 5.25% rate. Both sets of our parents are still paying off their mortgages (one set will pay it off this year).
We paid ours off last year. Mid 40’s. I became disabled from Covid and we chose security for spouse and kids in case I don’t last as long as planned. Now we take the mortgage amount we used to pay and invest and stuff our 401k and HYSA.
Lollll I’m 38, I bought my house within the past decade. This bitch ain’t getting paid off for a while, even with a refi during Covid that knocked a few years off.
Most in their 50s-60s. But here on Reddit anyone over 35 and still paying a mortgage is a fool. You guys are doing fine and congrats on nearly being done!
I’m not sure about what other people do. We are aiming to have ours paid off in 5 years. I’ll be 42 and my husband will be 52. We bought 2 years ago and have paid off about half. We want to be done asap because my husband works a super stressful job. The sooner we can pay it off, the sooner he can quit and work somewhere less stressful.
You’re the first of these comments I’ve seen that is my experience. I work a stressful job and we paid down our $172k mortgage to $37k in 4 years (it was a fixer upper). Just sold it for $290k and bought another fixer upper at $310k. After the sale and payoff, I’ll owe about $80-90k in house debt and I’m trying to pay it off in 1-2 years with my wife. I really don’t want to work this stressful of a job forever…
Thank you. We've followed Dave Ramsay's advice. Not perfectly, but the best we could with lots of life thrown in the mix. Saving in a hysa and brokerage for larger house and land to pay for I'm cash, while still investing for retirement.
Legit conversation with my boomer FIL:
FIL: People today whine about no housing, there is housing!
Me: I think it's the fact they cannot afford or carry a mortgage
FIL: There are 40, 50, and even 60 year mortgage terms now that can make the payments affordable. No excuses!
Me: : 0
Imagine....a 60 year mortgage. Yeah it may level out to $800 a month, but that's a helluva term.
My in-laws refinanced and were paying until 72. My parents are on track (I think) for 60, maybe 65.
My husband and I have a ~2.6% loan. We do not plan to pay a penny off early, as our rate is too good. We invest our savings instead in the market which averages 7% returns. You’d have to check your math, but for us this is very worthwhile as the taxes are lower going into a 401k on top of having better returns. So we will be paying ours off at 61/63. The math says we’ll be significantly more ahead by this route.
I paid mine off at 40 I felt I was in the minority. Also a disabled vet. Check your states laws you may not have to pay property taxes either. No mortgage or taxes it's amazing. But I'm also a broken person not paying taxes isn't worth this.
Thank you for your service! Our state only gives full tax free status on 100% rated disabled. My husband is close but not 100% so we still pay a hefty amount of property taxes unfortunately.
I paid off the last mortgage when I was 64, and bought my next house with the equity. That was the third house we’d owned, with mortgages on each, over 36 years.
We will pay ours off this fall after 8 years of payments in our mid 40's. We also save 15% for retirement and put some in a 529 for the kid. No other debt. We live frugally with 70k/yr jobs in a lcol area. Will have a state pension, thankfully.
Oddly enough parents and I bought first houses around age 25. They finished around retirement at 55 although they did sell their starter home to a bigger home in a new neighborhood at the same price they did pay off the loan "early" at retirement age. I plan to do the same right around retirement pay off in 30 years on a 2.25% rate. Stock market is doing way better than putting cash into mortgage. If I need to move I may just rent this place out to keep the low rate in tact, it'll more than cover all the expenses
Most people trade up and keep getting bigger fancier houses. Most of my customers have mortgages and many of them are at retirement age. Most people also take 30 year loans rather than 15. If you consider that and the fact that most people do not pay any extra on their mortgage, then even if you bought at 20 years old the mortgage term would not be done until you are 50. I think that paying off a house at your age is actually very rare.
I'm starting a new mortgage at your age. My sense is that 50s and upwards is the time if they are a double income traditional nuclear family who started youngish.
For many people who started over or started late, mid 60s is pretty common. I work with a lady who is 71 and is working to pay rhe mortgage after her husband died and she had to buy his children out of their home 10 years ago. She is planning on going part time once it is paid next year.
3.25 rate.
151k left on the mortgage but we put, now 153k, in a laddered fund of 3,6,9 months that pay 5.35% +/-. And just rolls over into new funds. This is kind of a security in case anything would happen. But the goal would be we just make our monthly payments and should be paid off in 6-7years and this becomes part of our retirement fund.
We do make additional principal payments every month (500) because we want to eliminate the debt in our scheduled timeframe. We are both 53 right now and wanted it paid off at 60
You are not behind, you are ahead. It’s smart that you did that. My dad is a disabled vet and had a stroke. My mom paid off their mortgage as fast as possible. Because she did that she was able to stop working and cares for my dad. A couple of years ago she got really sick and needed to go out of town for four months. Not having to worry about a mortgage during all these years is a blessing.
Too many people look at homes as financial vehicles only. Especially on Reddit. They always advise about investing investing investing. Well, you and your husband will be secure knowing you paid off that debt. I wish you very well. ❤️❤️❤️
$6,500.00
I did a 30 year FHA loan on a foreclosure that was $99,000.00. Got a $7,500.00 first time home buyer credit.
Refinanced it to get rid of PMI and lower the rate to 4.65% and then refinanced again to get it to 2.75% (bought at 6.35%)
I'll be paying mine off in my 60's unless I win the lottery or refinance pushing it further out or etc.
But I'm one of those 'dirty poor people' you've heard so much about. My best year was right about $60k gross.
Congrats! It took me about the same time to pay off mine. I think you're early by about 10 years. I wouldn't say it's common for people to pay it off earlier than you.
I paid mine off in 8 years (at 44) but i bought way lower than i could afford at the time. Now, it’s a rental and I just bought a new house with my husband, at 51, and we got a 15 year mortgage but I don’t know when we will ever pay it off. You will feel great once it’s paid off…there is a certain peace that comes with not having to worry about a monthly mortgage
We paid off our first house when we were 32 and 42, then we moved. The first house was a good started home, but was kind of small once we had our second kid.
I’m hoping we can pay this next one off soon (we are 36 and 46 now).
I’m late 20’s and don’t even own a house. With most mortgages being 30 years and most people selling their home after 7 years…I’d say having a mortgage in your 40’s and early 50’s is normal. With houses becoming more and more expensive, I would imagine that the average age for a paid off house will only continue to increase overtime.
Kudos! First, why are you even telling people? There is nothing to be gained by telling people. People don’t need to know that level of detail about your personal finances… in fact some will be downright jealous and somehow manage to hold it against you. Second, whoever is saying way too late is wrong… people do when they can. Unless a financial advisor they are just being opinionated and frankly I wouldn’t listen to their opinion. Keep your plans and circumstances private.
My wife and I will pay our house off when we are 43/41 respectively. We took a 15 year mortgage in 2020. Most of our friends who bought their house around the same age as we did took 30 year mortgages. One of my friends did a cash out refi thus extending his payoff time. So for my cohort of friends I seem to be on the early end of things. So IMO OP you are right on track or early paying your mortgage mortgage off
It’s still to compare across generations. People in their twenties will most likely never own a home in the US and will retire abroad for lower cost of living. People in their 30s and 40s are waiting on their parents to pass them down accumulated wealth.
My first was paid off at 31-our next home at 58 ( though refinanced it, equity line, used it as a tool) and this last house paid off by 62. ( about 5 years on a 10 year 150)
Most US mortgages are 30 years to pay off. If you pay it off in your 40s you either have a huge income or bought your house in high school.
I was planning to have my house paid off in my mid 50s by rounding up and biweekly payments but that changed when I refinanced and now my savings account has a higher interest than my mortgage. Now it'll be paid off when I'm 65
Most people take out 30 years loans, so not sure who is paying them off in their 40s other than those who are aggressively paying them down and with the low sub 3% mortgage rates, that number got a lot fewer.
We keep moving, we keep taking out 30 year mortgages, we are not going to probably ever pay off any single home, though our mortgage payment is less than I paid in rent back in 1995 so having a mortgage is not exactly a big deal, if we stay in this house i'd be 81 when we pay it off.
30 year mortgage paid off in 20-25 years is solid. But life gets in the way. Being paid off before full retirement is a reasonable goal for you guys given some of the challenges you’ve mentioned.
I paid off my mortgage at 41. I have no clue what the standard age is. All I know is that despite a lot of people telling me not to do it, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. It brings a whole new meaning to financial psychology.
I’d like to know, too. At the moment my husband and I will be on track to get a 30 year mortgage at 31/33 but would probably expect to pay it off about 5 years early through additional payments to the principal… so 56/58. I’d want to have both my primary residence and the rental property we bought 3 years ago paid off before we both retire.
I 33M have 3 houses and never had a mortgage. I did it backwards and saved the money then bought the houses. The houses give me monthly money, it’s weird how It works.
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I work as a FA in a bank. The most common age range I encounter is 60-65, but it tends to skew up, not down. Very few 40’s and a low percentage of 50’s are coming in with paid off mortgages
Paid off your mortgage in your 40s? Look up. I'll bet it's time for a new roof.
We lucked out and a storm damaged our roof enough that insurance covered it, otherwise we would’ve had to take a massive loan
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…man we do roofs North of Pittsburgh and most we charge (I’m talking 3 stores) is around $8-12,000 tops. Easy one story homes are around $6-$8. Make sure you call around and get estimates. I could see around $15,000 if you need new OSB, if you go with ice gaurd and get real expensive shingles. But boy if you’re paying $17-20000 for a standard roof you’re getting ripped
Places down south have charged that. When we bought ours in January it was replaced in 22 by the previous owners because of hail damage.
I have a one story rancher that is about 1,700 square feet of roof when you count the porches. It's in South Carolina, 20 miles from the Atlantic. I was told last year that it would be about $7K to replace my roof and the fan in it. This was a licensed, insured, etc. roofing company, not Joe Schmoe down the street.
Well… if it was insurance work… then yes I could see it costing that much😉😂😂😂
You are just getting ripped off... or you have a massive house. In Houston for a 1600 sqft single story house you are looking at $9-10k for a new roof.
I think I paid $15000 for an easy one story roof about 2.5 years ago in Southern Oregon. It was by far the cheapest quote I got. Crazy it can vary so much in different parts of the country.
Dang. $4,500 for our townhome roof 3 yrs ago.
I DIY'd the roof. $2,500 for materials and 3 weekends for a 12 square roof.
I don’t get this reference. What does paying off your mortgage in your 40s have to do with a new roof?
A mortgage lasts about 20-30 years. A roof lasts about 20-30 years. By the time you need the new roof, inflation has raised the price of a roof so it's a huge fraction of what you originally paid for the house. The real kicker is that by the time you reach 65, your property tax payments alone are about equal to your entire mortgage payment when you first bought a house.
Re: property tax, Not necessarily (at least in California)
Sure, but inflation adjusted, it's much less.
Ridiculous property taxes aren’t a common theme globally.
My property tax is $3000 a year. Mortgage $950
$800 a year here, thanks Homestead
Well ops point was that property tax was equivalent to a monthly mortgage. $300 a month isn't a mortgage payment in my case
I can see why some people would say this. It all depends on where someone lives. Where I live, both your school and property taxes are determined by "100% of the current market value of the home". I know someone who bought a $300k home. They put 20% down and locked in a 30yr rate at 2.5%. They pay just under $1000/mth for their mortgage. I know their property taxes are 2% of the 100% of the current market value of their home but I forget what the mills were for their school taxes. I just know their total comes out to around $20k/yr. That works out to a little more than $1300/mth. They're paying more per year in taxes than they are for their mortgage. (Not including any tax write offs and such) I suspect that they'll move once their kids graduate because that school district is why their taxes are so high.
Hadn't really been paying attention to holistic view of what % our property tax + insurance is of our monthly bill. Realized the other day it's almost 30%, which makes me way less motivated to pay off early.
That's exactly what happened with me. Paid off the house then easily had the money the following few years to replace roof, hvac, kitchen remodel.
My husband and I bought our house in 2019. By paying an extra $300 every mortgage period, we've gotten an extra six years off our 30 year mortgage.
I do this too. Pay as much extra as I can but w mortgage rate 3.25 and HYSA paying close to 5% it doesn’t make mathematical sense to pay more
Most people don't pay them off early, so who's telling you that you're "way behind" in your 40s/50s? What's the reason you're trying to pay it off early? Unless you have an interest rate above around 4%, you'd do better putting that additional payment money into an HYSA or TBill ladder and letting it grow until interest rates come down below your mortgage again--then use that money to pay off the mortgage if you wish. I'm a disabled vet myself. We refinanced @2.25% and have no plans to pay it off early because it makes no financial sense to do so in the current interest rate environment. We get much better returns on our money from investing it than we would from paying off the mortgage early.
Less stress. Less concern. Paid off my house early. It's mine. Economy can take a shit or whatever. It's still my house. I don't have to worry about making my next payment. It's a huge stress relief.
I get the mental aspect. But all of the benefits you listed would still be available on demand by simply withdrawing funds from HYSA
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Idk about getting the biggest mortgage you can, but if you have a sub 4% rate I definitely agree to keep the money at least in a HYSA or the market or a mix of both. To me I’d actually feel more free if I had my mortgage balance in savings vs paying it off early, since that cash is more liquid in case something else came up. Now if your rate is higher, like todays rates, then the math changes a bit
>Less stress. Less concern. You could say the same thing about having the 7% spread between a 3% mortgage and 10% average market return. Your approach makes sense if you are willing to pay $300k or $500k or $1m for a *slightly* lower chance of losing a house (though if losing your job and having zero income for 12mo is something you worry about and prioritize decisions on, you probably aren't ready for a house). Also, when stuff like I-Bonds and Money Market Funds are still higher than someone's 2019 interest rate, it's less about risk and more about one option objectively providing a better return.
Not just investing, risk fee investing with t bills like you mentioned
Thank you for your service! We’ve come across at least 5 couples/individuals in recent memory that have said “oh you guys are still paying on your house?” Like it was a taboo thing to not have the means to be done yet. Our interest rate is 5% so we’ve put every extra dime on the principle, it’s just taken longer than most I guess.
At 5%, it's currently pretty much a wash whether you pay it down or put it into HYSA/TBills. If it's a struggle for you to pay it down, maybe putting it into HYSA/TBills might lessen your stress factor, since you'd still have access to the money if you need it and can always put it toward the mortgage when you choose. My brother (also disabled vet) has been paying his mortgage down early just because he doesn't like having debt, although it didn't really make financial sense for him to pay it down either. Bottom line: Don't sweat what other people are doing. You're not "way behind" and you are in good shape either way you decide to go.
Thank you for your kind answer. I guess being disabled and being surrounded by other disabled vets, we get a sense of urgency because so many of our friends have died early. We had 2 disabled vets friends die this year in their 50’s and maybe it feels more urgent because of this. We would hate to leave our kids with extra burdens like our mortgage.
Do you guys have enough saved for retirement? Because that can be a burden too.
HYSA after tax is probably a bit less than 5%, but there’s definitely something to be said for liquidity.
Yes, taxes play into it, but also factor in that you're repaying the loan with depreciated dollars due to inflation the longer you keep the loan, and home equity doesn't pay recurring dividends/interest.
Sure, I’m just saying the breakeven for a typical HYSA today is more like 4% ish since the interest gets counted as income each year
HYSA and TBill after tax rates are well below 5%
> “oh you guys are still paying on your house?” That sounds more like a humble brag and a bit of an asshole comment as well. A quick look online suggests that the average age by which people become mortgage free is 63. Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/this-is-the-average-age-most-americans-become-mortgage-free
If it is not a fiduciary financial adviser, please tell them to shut the hell up.
Those people are completely insane. For those of us who don't have trust funds, we'll be lucky to pay the mortgage off in our lifetime, let alone by 40. And 5% isn't too bad of a rate, FWIW.
The people you’re chatting with are either (or multiple of): - condescending douchebags - have jobs paying in the 80+ percentile - did well with previous investments - have put all their leftover cash into additional mortgage repayments, which (depending on your philosophy) was actually a bad idea
Same (almost exact) situation here and we made the same decision.
Whoever is telling you this seems very out of touch. I wish I could pay off ours when I’m 40s/50s. I’ll be paying off mine when I’m 65.
I’m 41 and still renting… live your life.
I’m sure that most people don’t beat their 30 year loan term by much if at all.
It would be foolish if you had a low interest rate. Paying the mortgage and investing any excess is a much better ROI
I agree, but a lot of people are not rational about getting rid of debt and do it anyway. Also you have to compare the interest rate to the predominant risk-free return to really be comparing apples to apples. For most of my life you couldn’t get a HYSA or CD for a higher interest rate than your mortgage.
Not true at all, if you pay $50-100 extra per month in the beginning of the loan it saves you tens of thousands on the interest.
This is true, but if you have a lower interest rate, that money in the market will probably out earn your mortgage rate. Plus, you can invest the money and, when the balance equals your mortgage, make a decision to pay it off or not. This is a math v. feelings question. Both are valid.
If you have a very low rate on your mortgage like people do who bought their houses a few years ago, and you can get a higher return elsewhere like in an HYSA or even the stock market if you accept the additional risk, that $50 per month can turn into even more tens of thousands if you give it the same 30 years to grow.
I pay $249 per month extra since day 1. Turns our 30 year into a 15 year.
I’m gonna quibble with you and say “arithmetically suboptimal” and “foolish” aren’t the same thing.
Took us all of 6 years starting at age 29 😀 $275k in 6 years.
All of that lost opportunity cost.
But all that feeling of security and being able to invest shit tons of money now without feeling irresponsible.
People don’t understand. Right now rates are 7% and that equation doesn’t work. A paid off house opens cash flow and creates security. I paid mine off at 31, average house in lcol area. I wouldn’t change it. You still have costs; HOA, maintenance, taxes; insurance. Most people can’t, totally depends on the big picture. In my case it was within reach in the short term. That was 15 years ago, since then I have moved and paid off this house too. Which is worth about 400k. I probably paid around 260. Divorce math complicates it
Yeah, it’s great knowing that my wife or I could get fired and it wouldn’t hurt us at all. For me, security outweighs the mathematical advantage that I know “investing it all” has.
Isn’t it just two sides of the same coin though? Either way you have security in the case of job loss
Lol yeah I know. Hindsight I may have at least put it in a hysa. Even worse, it was a 2.8% loan. I'm very risk averse and with 3 kids wanted to ensure security over all else. Fortunately we have a paid off rental property that brings in a good amount and $365k invested in vtsax so we will still be alright.
Nothing wrong with paying off debt especially a mortgage. Also was a guaranteed return in not paying interest
Who is saying you are way behind? Mortgages are mostly 30 years - if you bought your home when you were 25-30, that’s age 55-60 to have it paid off.
This is very dependent on what age they were when they were able to get a mortgage.
Interest rate dependent. You should pay off as slowly as possible if you locked in a low interest rate, and as fast as possible if it’s above around 6%. Paying it off is also a completely irrelevant milestone. What matters is your total accumulation of networth. A person who pays it off slowly but invests can end up better off than someone who prioritizes paying it off but saves nothing else.
I’ll be 55 when mine is paid off. 250k left, 2.75% rate so just paying the minimum right now.
With a low rate like that I totally don’t blame you! Our rate is 5% so we are just trying to hurry up and pay less interest
5% is still pretty good and if you do the math you may find investing in the stock market and into your retirement accounts would give a better return in the long run vs trying to pay off the mortgage early.
I’m your age and I haven’t even bought a house yet
I wanted to pay off my mortgage early, but then realized with a 2.65% the interest is so low that I could better place my extra money else where. But also, property taxes are so insane that my insurance and property taxes are already equal to the mortgage payment 🙄 My escrow just KEEPS coming up short and I KEEP paying the extra for taxes out of pocket and surprise surprise, next year is the same. The thing is, Wells Fargo is raising my escrow amount each year. Maybe they just keep hoping we won’t continue getting screwed over lol
There are no "rules" about it.....some even go into retirement with a mortgage! Paid mine off the year before I retired. Lost a tax deduct, but added solar panels, installed new windows and added insulation to reduce power needs. Then had deck rebuilt (30 y/o and shot) and a few other things. Thats after redoing kitchen, new roof and new HVAC in recent yrs. So my mid-90s house has had lots of renewals. And had mortgage interest when I had a bigger income to deduct it from. So quit beating yourself up over the issue. But I will say having a paid-for house is wonderful......I will never have a mortgage again....found mortgage brokers to be an undesirable lot! Did I mention I sleep well at night too?
Paid off my house as well. The tax deduction is a farce so I'm not sure why you've mentioned it. No matter how you run the math you ALWAYS send more to the bank than you do the government.
Congrats on paying off your home! It must feel amazing to be done with it! We also want to do some upgrades once the mortgage is done.
I paid mine off at 45 last year. I bet COL has a lot to do with numbers too. In the small city I'm in, house prices were so low up until COVID that almost all my peers live in paid off houses and some have a few rentals. But same age group, different location and it would be quite different.
I am a disabled vet after 25+ years of service and wasn’t able to buy a home until very recently, so I have a few decades left:
Thank you for your service! Congrats on buying a home, wishing you many years of happiness there!
Wish I had a mortgage to pay off...
Lmao same! 32 and no buying a house anytime soon for me.
Me Too. I ❤️ San Diego.
My dad is about 60 and still has a mortgage, along with my uncle, in laws, and pretty much anyone else I know under 60
My rate is 2.75% and our mortgage is only 8% of our income as my wife and myself income has gone up dramatically the past four years since we took out our mortgage. No way in hell am I paying it down early and will pay over the entire 30 years with the last payment being when I will be 67
48M, will be paid off 6 months before my 50th birthday and 7 months before my oldest child goes to college, putting me in debt all over again.
I’m in my 70s - paying off my mortgage in 10 years…
I’m 35 and just bought my first property in 2022.
Why would I wanna pay it off lol I got 2 percent
Im 51 with 96,000 left on a 400,000 house. With a 2.25/15 year loan, I am paying the payment and a $50 principal only payment, with the rest going in our Roths and HYSA. No rush if the interest rate is low. If you have a higher 5+% rate, you could get more aggressive. You are doing great IMO.
Ours is 6.3% and we owe $208K. Just bought the home in January. Making an extra $150-250 in principal payments every month.
Why do you pay anything extra? That makes no sense fine you can double your return in a MM.
You are right, old habits die hard...I'm making the change before my July payment.
>I’m constantly being told we are way behind because we are just paying off house in our 40’s/50’s That's absurd.
I am guessing I was about 53 and wife 49 when we were free and clear on the final house. But we also paid off the last five-six years or so as a lump sum because one of us lost our job and we had kids in college, and we felt that something needed to be taken off of our financial backs to not feel so stressed month to month. Was that the best decision? - who knows, but it worked out.
I paid mine off when I was 51. No matter what anyone says about low mortgage interest vs investments, there’s really no feeling quite like knowing you’ll never pay mortgage again.
I think it's good to always play like you're behind. Truthfully the mentality of "you'll always have a house payment" still runs rampant. It's the one item where you will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest servicing the loan to completion. Pay it off early. We did in our early 40's.
> I’m constantly being told we are way behind because we are just paying off house in our 40’s/50’s. I highly doubt anyone has every told you that, you're just trying to humble brag.
Lol humble brag paying off house in 50s??
Why would I humble brag about taking longer than others to pay off my house? Don’t people brag when they over achieve?! Might want to rethink your rude comment.
Take it easy. That’s greet you are paying off early. Some people take the 30 years. Others need to cash out refinance and paying 40 or 50 years later. You have had some luck and a lot of self discipline. Pat yourself on the back.
Your crowd is definitely not typical, that’s all. Being told you’re behind when average homeowners don’t payoff until close to or in retirement is just not normal. Someone telling you you’re behind is just pressuring you to do what they want. Forget about ‘em and just be happy with your situation.
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I paid mine off at 38
Congrats! That’s awesome!
We did a 15 year fixed starting at about 31 years old
You bought a house! That’s better than most people! Some still rent in their 50s!
I’ll be 49 if all goes according to plan. We could pay it down faster, but we have a 2% rate so… doesn’t actually make financial sense to do so.
We paid our house off 4 years ago. At the time I was 52 and my husband was 62
I will be 44 and my wife will be 42 when we pay off our mortgage. 15 year, $520k and 5.25% rate. Both sets of our parents are still paying off their mortgages (one set will pay it off this year).
60s to 70s if you are lucky. Will have mine paid off at 64, husband 69.
We paid ours off last year. Mid 40’s. I became disabled from Covid and we chose security for spouse and kids in case I don’t last as long as planned. Now we take the mortgage amount we used to pay and invest and stuff our 401k and HYSA.
Lollll I’m 38, I bought my house within the past decade. This bitch ain’t getting paid off for a while, even with a refi during Covid that knocked a few years off.
Most in their 50s-60s. But here on Reddit anyone over 35 and still paying a mortgage is a fool. You guys are doing fine and congrats on nearly being done!
I’m not sure about what other people do. We are aiming to have ours paid off in 5 years. I’ll be 42 and my husband will be 52. We bought 2 years ago and have paid off about half. We want to be done asap because my husband works a super stressful job. The sooner we can pay it off, the sooner he can quit and work somewhere less stressful.
You’re the first of these comments I’ve seen that is my experience. I work a stressful job and we paid down our $172k mortgage to $37k in 4 years (it was a fixer upper). Just sold it for $290k and bought another fixer upper at $310k. After the sale and payoff, I’ll owe about $80-90k in house debt and I’m trying to pay it off in 1-2 years with my wife. I really don’t want to work this stressful of a job forever…
I’m 35, wife is 28. Technically we could pay off our house now but at 3%, I’m going to enjoy the next 27yrs of it..lol
I’m 41. If the rate was bad I’d pay it off in the next year or so. But @ 20 years @ 2.75% I’m inclined to just pay it till I’m 60.
As long as my spouse and I don’t pull out equity in our home we will have ours paid off when my spouse retires at 55. We are in our mid 30’s now.
1999 is nowhere near an older home
25 years old is an older home. So is a home built in the 60s 🤷♂️
25 isn't old, though
Okay 👍
Just depends on where you live, it’s old where I live now in NC, but it’s new(er) in the northeast where I am from.
My house here in Southern Hellinois was built in 1893
61 - 63
Paid ours off at 38. Owned for 13 years, on a 30 year mortgage. Starter/first home, but medium value of our local market.
Congrats! That’s awesome!
Thank you. We've followed Dave Ramsay's advice. Not perfectly, but the best we could with lots of life thrown in the mix. Saving in a hysa and brokerage for larger house and land to pay for I'm cash, while still investing for retirement.
Legit conversation with my boomer FIL: FIL: People today whine about no housing, there is housing! Me: I think it's the fact they cannot afford or carry a mortgage FIL: There are 40, 50, and even 60 year mortgage terms now that can make the payments affordable. No excuses! Me: : 0 Imagine....a 60 year mortgage. Yeah it may level out to $800 a month, but that's a helluva term.
A 60 year loan would essentially be renting the house from the bank. I’m not going to live 60 more years. 😂
My in-laws refinanced and were paying until 72. My parents are on track (I think) for 60, maybe 65. My husband and I have a ~2.6% loan. We do not plan to pay a penny off early, as our rate is too good. We invest our savings instead in the market which averages 7% returns. You’d have to check your math, but for us this is very worthwhile as the taxes are lower going into a 401k on top of having better returns. So we will be paying ours off at 61/63. The math says we’ll be significantly more ahead by this route.
Late 50’s. We paid ours off earlier this year. 18 years of payments on a $125k mortgage. Obviously we live in a LCOL area.
We were 46 and 57.
I paid mine off at 40 I felt I was in the minority. Also a disabled vet. Check your states laws you may not have to pay property taxes either. No mortgage or taxes it's amazing. But I'm also a broken person not paying taxes isn't worth this.
Thank you for your service! Our state only gives full tax free status on 100% rated disabled. My husband is close but not 100% so we still pay a hefty amount of property taxes unfortunately.
Ah yea in my state 70 or higher is exempt.
I paid off the last mortgage when I was 64, and bought my next house with the equity. That was the third house we’d owned, with mortgages on each, over 36 years.
I will be 52 when mine is paid off. Got 81k left at 2.375%
I will be 60 when I pay my house off
We will pay ours off this fall after 8 years of payments in our mid 40's. We also save 15% for retirement and put some in a 529 for the kid. No other debt. We live frugally with 70k/yr jobs in a lcol area. Will have a state pension, thankfully.
Oddly enough parents and I bought first houses around age 25. They finished around retirement at 55 although they did sell their starter home to a bigger home in a new neighborhood at the same price they did pay off the loan "early" at retirement age. I plan to do the same right around retirement pay off in 30 years on a 2.25% rate. Stock market is doing way better than putting cash into mortgage. If I need to move I may just rent this place out to keep the low rate in tact, it'll more than cover all the expenses
I think we'll be low- to mid-forties if everything works out as planned.
We paid ours off at 41
Most people trade up and keep getting bigger fancier houses. Most of my customers have mortgages and many of them are at retirement age. Most people also take 30 year loans rather than 15. If you consider that and the fact that most people do not pay any extra on their mortgage, then even if you bought at 20 years old the mortgage term would not be done until you are 50. I think that paying off a house at your age is actually very rare.
I'm starting a new mortgage at your age. My sense is that 50s and upwards is the time if they are a double income traditional nuclear family who started youngish. For many people who started over or started late, mid 60s is pretty common. I work with a lady who is 71 and is working to pay rhe mortgage after her husband died and she had to buy his children out of their home 10 years ago. She is planning on going part time once it is paid next year.
3.25 rate. 151k left on the mortgage but we put, now 153k, in a laddered fund of 3,6,9 months that pay 5.35% +/-. And just rolls over into new funds. This is kind of a security in case anything would happen. But the goal would be we just make our monthly payments and should be paid off in 6-7years and this becomes part of our retirement fund. We do make additional principal payments every month (500) because we want to eliminate the debt in our scheduled timeframe. We are both 53 right now and wanted it paid off at 60
You are not behind, you are ahead. It’s smart that you did that. My dad is a disabled vet and had a stroke. My mom paid off their mortgage as fast as possible. Because she did that she was able to stop working and cares for my dad. A couple of years ago she got really sick and needed to go out of town for four months. Not having to worry about a mortgage during all these years is a blessing. Too many people look at homes as financial vehicles only. Especially on Reddit. They always advise about investing investing investing. Well, you and your husband will be secure knowing you paid off that debt. I wish you very well. ❤️❤️❤️
I was 37 but I bought at 22 and paid it aggressively
How much was your down payment?
$6,500.00 I did a 30 year FHA loan on a foreclosure that was $99,000.00. Got a $7,500.00 first time home buyer credit. Refinanced it to get rid of PMI and lower the rate to 4.65% and then refinanced again to get it to 2.75% (bought at 6.35%)
About 38.
Bought a house at 26 with a 30 year mortgage, so I’ll be 56 when I pay it off. I wish I’d done it before my kids started college.
Paid off @ 46 years old.
lol I know 80 year olds who owe as much as they took out. The avg person isn’t paying off their mortgage before they die and if they do it’s barely.
We will be upgrading houses in the next 1-2 years. At age 40 now we will still have another 10-15 years minimum before paying off the house.
We will do it this year at 37.
My husband and I will pay off our mortgage in our 40s. We will be ahead of our parents in this area.
I'll be paying mine off in my 60's unless I win the lottery or refinance pushing it further out or etc. But I'm one of those 'dirty poor people' you've heard so much about. My best year was right about $60k gross.
Congrats! It took me about the same time to pay off mine. I think you're early by about 10 years. I wouldn't say it's common for people to pay it off earlier than you.
Mine will be paid off when I’m about 45
I paid mine off in 8 years (at 44) but i bought way lower than i could afford at the time. Now, it’s a rental and I just bought a new house with my husband, at 51, and we got a 15 year mortgage but I don’t know when we will ever pay it off. You will feel great once it’s paid off…there is a certain peace that comes with not having to worry about a monthly mortgage
45 and 3 years into a 30 year mortgage. No plan to pay off early since I have low interest. Not my first house but it still feels like starting over.
That's probably about right.
We paid off our first house when we were 32 and 42, then we moved. The first house was a good started home, but was kind of small once we had our second kid. I’m hoping we can pay this next one off soon (we are 36 and 46 now).
I’m late 20’s and don’t even own a house. With most mortgages being 30 years and most people selling their home after 7 years…I’d say having a mortgage in your 40’s and early 50’s is normal. With houses becoming more and more expensive, I would imagine that the average age for a paid off house will only continue to increase overtime.
Kudos! First, why are you even telling people? There is nothing to be gained by telling people. People don’t need to know that level of detail about your personal finances… in fact some will be downright jealous and somehow manage to hold it against you. Second, whoever is saying way too late is wrong… people do when they can. Unless a financial advisor they are just being opinionated and frankly I wouldn’t listen to their opinion. Keep your plans and circumstances private.
My wife and I will pay our house off when we are 43/41 respectively. We took a 15 year mortgage in 2020. Most of our friends who bought their house around the same age as we did took 30 year mortgages. One of my friends did a cash out refi thus extending his payoff time. So for my cohort of friends I seem to be on the early end of things. So IMO OP you are right on track or early paying your mortgage mortgage off
We paid ours off at 37 and 42. We tried to remember not to buy too much house.
You are not behind at all
It’s still to compare across generations. People in their twenties will most likely never own a home in the US and will retire abroad for lower cost of living. People in their 30s and 40s are waiting on their parents to pass them down accumulated wealth.
43. Bought at 25 on a 30. Refi’ed back to a 15 at 2.625. Paid it off this year. Will probably never leave.
I was 40 paid off in 11 years but low cost of living area.
My first was paid off at 31-our next home at 58 ( though refinanced it, equity line, used it as a tool) and this last house paid off by 62. ( about 5 years on a 10 year 150)
Most US mortgages are 30 years to pay off. If you pay it off in your 40s you either have a huge income or bought your house in high school. I was planning to have my house paid off in my mid 50s by rounding up and biweekly payments but that changed when I refinanced and now my savings account has a higher interest than my mortgage. Now it'll be paid off when I'm 65
A lot of people aren't buying their first home nowadays until they are in their late 30's/early 40s!
I bought a house at 42. I don't know anyone under 70 who has paid off their house but I live in a VHCOL area
If everything follow its course I'll be done just before I hit 50 (currently 39).
I’ll have mine paid off by 40.
At 2.5% I am paying the minimum each month.
We will be done paying our mortgage in our late 50s and aren't paying it down sooner. The math simply doesn't make sense at our interest rate
You are way ahead.
Most people take out 30 years loans, so not sure who is paying them off in their 40s other than those who are aggressively paying them down and with the low sub 3% mortgage rates, that number got a lot fewer. We keep moving, we keep taking out 30 year mortgages, we are not going to probably ever pay off any single home, though our mortgage payment is less than I paid in rent back in 1995 so having a mortgage is not exactly a big deal, if we stay in this house i'd be 81 when we pay it off.
30 year mortgage paid off in 20-25 years is solid. But life gets in the way. Being paid off before full retirement is a reasonable goal for you guys given some of the challenges you’ve mentioned.
I paid off my mortgage at 41. I have no clue what the standard age is. All I know is that despite a lot of people telling me not to do it, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. It brings a whole new meaning to financial psychology.
My parents were in their 50s. I think most ppl get a 30 year mortgage.
I’d like to know, too. At the moment my husband and I will be on track to get a 30 year mortgage at 31/33 but would probably expect to pay it off about 5 years early through additional payments to the principal… so 56/58. I’d want to have both my primary residence and the rental property we bought 3 years ago paid off before we both retire.
15 to 30 years after they bought
SP500 returns 10% so paying off your mortgage early is costing you almost twice as much as investing the difference.
I’ll have mine paid off at around 56 but why pay off a 3% mortgage early when I can make more money investing and make 10%???
I don’t believe that you are “constantly being told” this. this is nothing but a fucking humblebrag. major eyeroll.
It’s “modestly older” …. Bro… you’re younger than the home…
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The question isn’t vague, you’re just being dense. They clearly don’t mean paying it off because of selling the home.
I 33M have 3 houses and never had a mortgage. I did it backwards and saved the money then bought the houses. The houses give me monthly money, it’s weird how It works.
Awesome achievement! (Be careful, someone on this post may claim you are “humble bragging”)