All bets are off if the government decides that interest deductions for homes are benefits of the “rich” and puts a stop to the practice.
In the ‘Bama economy, the only thing that will have value will be property, especially gold and realty. Soon, greenbacks will have no value at all, so spending them while they do makes sense.
If they do away with mortgage deductions, I will seriously consider cashing my IRAs and 401ks and paying off the mortgage.
One other point to consider - and this involves a degree of uncertainty. If your mortgage is long (30 or so) remember if inflation does indeed kick in you will be paying back that loan with inflated cheep dollars as opposed to the sounder ones you originated with. This is in effect doing to your mortgage what the government will do to the debt it is creating today...inflate it away.
Never should have been a deductions to start with.
IIRC, ALL medical was deductible and credit card interest.
And they further crash the housing market. The policy should never have been enacted but since it has contributed to the increase in home values taking it away not only reduces asset wealth it dampens demand for future home purchases....
That’s part of why the economy will NEVER recover with this crew in charge.
Everyone’s afraid to make any moves because they could lose their shirt on the next 0bamanomics dictate.
Before the end of his term, Obama will be defining the word “rich” as someone who still has some money in his wallet a week after payday.
The mortgage deduction isn’t the only potential ‘cash cow’ that he could tap...the tax deferred status of 401(k) accounts could also be confiscated “for the children.” And after that, expect ACORN goons to come around asking for donations “for the disadvantaged,” and hinting at all sorts of calamities that could befall those who won’t “dig deep for the poor.”
This guy Obama is Comrade Chavez in a well-tailored suit. Pray for the Republic.
You never really “own” your home. You are just renting it from the government. They call the rent “property tax” but failure to pay will get you evicted the same if you were not paying on a rental unit.
The only difference is you get to pay all the insurance and maintenance cost of this “rental”.
Having said that, I think it is still a wise decision to pay off your mortgage.
My property tax is around $110 a month. Less than the cheapest apartment and as long as I can scrape up the money for the taxes each year, I have a place to live.
“All bets are off if the government decides that interest deductions for homes are benefits of the “rich” and puts a stop to the practice.”
I think there’s a strong chance that will happen. The Dems tried to make everyone a homeowner, but found that poor people tend to have bad habits, such as not working, or paying their bills, which would include a mortgage.
In frustration over the inability to give a house to everyone, I expect the Dems to punish homeowners by removing the interest deduction for just the reason you state... it’s a benefit to the “rich”.
On the other hand, if the currency does indeed collapse in the classic Wiemar fashion under O’bungler, and you have paper saying you own your house for a given amount of the now worthless script - then you get your home for what you already have in it basically.
Not that that will be a huge comfort.