Hello - I have enough savings to pay off my mortgage and wondering if I should do so?
I have no real tax deductions otherwise.
Have about $45k to pay off.
I will probably be selling and moving in 2-3 years so not sure if worth it to do.
Thanks!
Susan
If you pay it off, how long will it take for you to get that amount back in savings since you won’t have a mortgage payment any longer?
Will it totally deplete your savings?
If you can recoup your savings in a reasonable amount of time (2 years maybe), then I would pay it off, but ONLY if you still have the emergency fund after the payment, otherwise I’d use the savings to pay as much as you can without touching the emergency fund.
I wanted to ask if the mortgage interest on 45k is benefiting you from a tax deduction standpoint. Also echoing what was previously said about leaving enough money in savings for an emergency. You will still own the house as you stated for a few years, what might need repair or replacement? Is your mortgage rate is greater than the interest earnings on your savings? Is the money used to payoff the mortgage coming from a investment vehicle that involves selling shares or paying a transaction fee? Do you have the discipline to continue making deposits into your savings account equivalent to the mortgage payment to shore up your depleted balance?
If the money is sitting in a savings or money market account earning next to nothing in interest perhaps making a lump sum payment to principle might be a option. You could ease any anxiety about depleting your cash and still earn the equivalent yield tied to your mortgage.
At the end of the day if this causes you any amount of unneeded stress you can always table this decision until you feel confident that you are putting your best foot forward in your financial affairs.
Good luck!
We are in a similar position. We are not moving. We may buy another home, and use this one as a rental. Our property value is rising due to gentrification. We use the mortgage interest deduction. If you are selling, I would consider not paying off the mortgage with savings during a pandemic. There is no way to properly know the economic fallout from the virus. Property values may fall, if a recession is looming.
Thanks for the reply Jeremy. Yes about 2 years to get back up. Something to think about!
Hi Susan, you got quite a situation there. I would definitely advice you to save up on that cash and now spend it on your mortgage in one go. Specifically, if that’s all the savings that you have. You should try to pan out a more strategic approach to paying off your mortgage, such that it benefits you in the long run. Maybe trying out a mortgage calculator would be more beneficial for you to make this happen in your benefit.
