[quote=bearishgurl]I forgot to add that 99% of the “paid-off” properties in CA lie in areas which are NOT FAVORED by or UNAFFORDABLE to the younger, family-raising set (read: OLDer areas).
The reason why you have been exposed to only the “over-indebted homeowner” crowd is likely because you have never lived in any micro-areas of CA where the overall indebtedness is low, ER ;=].
Nothing wrong with that, but just sayin’ …[/quote]
Thanks for the good points BG. Yep, you’re absolutely right. I’ve never lived or bought property in California prior to 2011 so I wasn’t exposed to any of this. Most of the exposure I had was watching friends or former classmates buy properties they apparently couldn’t afford. Or that they could afford and just milk the equity out of them. (None of them live in San Diego anymore).
And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Prop 13!
[quote=The-Shoveler]IMO with rates this low, it only makes sense to have a paid off place if you are completely retired (well at least if you have some self control with spending etc..)
But that’s just my opinion.
maybe BG is correct, maybe 21% represents for the most part the completely retired.[/quote]
The Shoveler. I agree it really makes sense to have a paid off place if you’re completely retired. But even being semi-retired, I love the feeling of having my place paid off. I know it’s super conservative to have properties paid off and not to have it leveraged but I’ve purchased several properties and waited until I had the funds to purchase them. In several parts of the world, mortgages either don’t exist or they are extremely expensive to finance so in many parts of the world people buy with cash.
Americans are VERY fortunate (and spoiled) with these super low interest rates and the ability to pay over 15-30 years.
[quote=flu]I don’t get the fascination in today’s environment with the desire to pay a primary home off early, especially for someone who is young that has still a lot of earning potential and can afford to take risks and still recover.
In this current environment, why do you want your money just to still there doing nothing?
Paying off early is sooooo old school. Hell, I was part of that old school of thinking. Not so much anymore.[/quote]
Flu, definitely I can see your point and chain of thought. I agree in this very low interest rate environment many want to take on leverage and debt. But there is a segment of the population out there that is already well exposed to the stock market and other investments.
Absolutely no need to hit “home runs” or take on really any risk at all. I know several people like this. They don’t need to take on any leverage whatsoever.
