Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 40 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Does anyone remember Mortgage Burnings?
Does anyone remember Mortgage Burnings? Google says “Mortgage burning was a twentieth-century custom.”
My wife and I made the final payment for our house in July, and yesterday we finally received confirmation from our creditor that the mortgage was paid off. It came as a packet of forms in a full-size, non-descript manilla envelope.
We were able to pay our house off in 21 years. This was made possible by refinancing to improve our rate when the prime rate rolled around to friendly territory, and by making a half payment every two weeks. My wife was the impetus behind both of these actions. She is a killer money manager. It is my earnest hope for all the wedded unions out there that one — and trust me, it is better if it is only one — of you is this person, and the other recognizes the value in it.
So unlike in the 20th century, I immediately scanned it to PDF and put a copy in our secure cloud. And the original goes in our fireproof safe. I will ask my wife if she wants me to print out a copy of the PDF to use at a mortgage burning party. These are kind of like housewarming parties at the other end of life. You can see one in an episode of a number of that century’s classic shows: All in The Family, Mayberry RFD, Eight is Enough, M*A*S*H, and other TV hits of the ’70s and ’80s.
Did I mention I am an unrecovered Boomer?
Published in General
These days, it’s probably more important to have proof of a mortgage being paid off. Since otherwise whatever the bank/whatever has, might be considered incontrovertible proof of a mortgage if someone wanted to commit fraud on you.
And a reminder: there is no “cloud,” it’s just someone else’s computer.
Congrats! Truly a milestone inlife.
Now if only we could stop paying the perpetual real estate use tax for the property we own.
Since apples don’t “come true” from seed, you don’t know what kind of fruit a tree grown from seed will produce. Every variety that survives is grafted from the tree that produced fruit people wanted. There is one Granny Smith tree, in Australia, where all Granny Smith apples come from via grafting, usually onto dwarf root stock these days.
Hear hear. Our home has an absurdly high property tax, as do all the homes in New York because of the state law mandating that local governments pay for Medicare/Medicaid. It takes 85% of the county budget right off the table, leaving 15% to fix roads and water pipes. Stinks.
And congratulations on the major financial event!
A few years after retirement we relocated to Tennessee: Paid cash for the property, does that count?
I didn’t know that about apples. I don’t think Johnny Appleseed did either. The Disney version anyway.
The Disney version is typically washed out. John Chapman was a true eccentric. A Swedenborgian preacher, he was morally opposed to grafting. He would plant orchards along the Ohio River and sell seedlings to settlers as they came through. The deal to get your free homestead land specified that you had to plant an orchard (apples or peaches) on it, to discourage land speculators. Homesteaders would put in 12-15 apple trees, and one or two might produce fruit that had some good qualities, like good “keepers” that would last into the winter. All the rest became cider. Up until Prohibition, apples were something you drank. So in a sense, Johnny Appleseed was the guy bringing the beer to the party.
Gotta say, I probably still drink more apples than I eat. I do like a good cider.
I mostly remember “mortgage burnings” from churches in which the congregation would celebrate that more money could be directed to direct ministry instead of to the mortgage.
We had almost paid off the mortgage on a house when I was laid off, and decided to retire. We then moved and bought a different house. We took out a mortgage for cash flow reasons, but paid it off after about 3 years, since we had most of the funds from the previous house, and Mrs. Tabby is exceptional at keeping our cash flow under control. Many might argue that with the 3.5% interest rate we had it didn’t make financial sense to pay off the mortgage, but Mrs. Tabby was interested in reducing the number of monthly bill that had to be paid.
I think as more people run into issues with real estate (property) taxes on their homes, the “freedom” of being mortgage-free is seen as not as much the liberation that it once did.
We had a walnut tree in Oregon that produced English Walnuts from being grafted onto a Black Walnut root/stump. English Walnut trees apparently didn’t want to grow on their own in Oregon, at least not where we lived.
And we also had 3 Black Walnut trees. Plus three Hazelnut (we called them filberts back then).
I’ve been encountering stories recently of a few states that are looking to do away with the property tax. Was it… North Dakota? and maybe Texas?
It depends where you live. Our real estate taxes are about $600 per year.
Congrats on your new financial freedom!
I used to have a car loan and a house loan. I’m glad both are paid off because it has given me a lot more freedom. It didn’t make financial sense to pay off the house because my after-tax interest rate was very low since I refinanced when interest rates were at the bottom. But I’ve had some tough financial times after I paid off the house loan due to unexpected bouts of unemployment. If I had to make monthly payments in order to have a place to live, it would add a lot of stress to my life.
If you can swing it financially, it’s worth paying off your house.
We have a plot here at Robin Hill that Granddad called the Nut Orchard. There is a stately row of black walnuts, intended to be harvested for their wood some day. There are three filberts (we called them that too, very tasty!). Also two hickories, and two hickory/pecan crosses that Granddad called hecans. Some of our rare trees are there, like the weeping larch. And that’s where the kids have put their beehives, to take advantage of apple orchards next door. I’m going to try overseeding some of the grass with creeping thyme, partly for the bees and partly so I don’t have to mow it as much.
I don’t remember any mortgage burnings but I do remember seeing cartoons/stories about people doing it.
On the other hand I remember when my parents paid off the contract-for-deed for their small business. That contract had been so daunting in the early years of their business, my mother told me about crying when they had a bad month of sales as she was certain they were going to lose everything. I don’t remember them burning the contract but they were definitely happy when it was paid off. They showed me the payment going in the mailbox.
We kept ours for two reasons: 1) proof that we paid off the house, and 2) as a souvenir . . .
Unbelievable.
I was told that “the cloud” transcends reality.
But she was wrong.
North Dakota has it in the ballot. If it passes, they will be the first state to do so