Should you pay down your mortgage or put it in rsp's? Or half and half?
408255
If you are flush with cash look for viable investment strategies.  I'd advise real estate investment inside and outside your state.  Your cash can be used to get you into affordable multi tenancies and then you can reap long term benefits form the cash flow and eventual equity produced by your growing portfolio of investments.  Think long term.  Invest in property for the long hall and grow your portfolio and size of investments over time.  You will find long term wealth and many financial benefits form your investments.
219365
i would invest. you can write off home interest.
1081491
Buy a house and invest the rest
1069484
Three things I'd do.\n\nPay off my mortgage,\nPay off my Dad's mortgage.\nSeek financial advice about investing the rest.
394328
I would be comfortable with being able to make the payment out of the lowest wage I can earn should I lose my job. If there are two people working, then whatever one wage can handle (comfortably). As individuals we all have our version of comfortable. When you are buying something a big as a house, then sometimes, it may make sense to make short term sacrifices for the long term gain - where the long term gain is a roof over your head you can call your own - not the 'possible' selling of the home for a significant profit.\n\nSo, I don't do percentage, I do what makes sense for me and my family at the time. What do I do if I can't afford it? Don't buy it, smaller house, apartment, etc., or I get a second/third job.\n\nI'm very conservative, as NO ONE knows what is in store for them the next day. So I would rather be safe, and have a smaller house I can afford, rather than a bigger one I MIGHT be able to keep IF all goes well.\n\nGood luck!\n\nPS: I have a link to the mortgage professor on my website, as well as bankrate - calculators.
1065039
I think it sort of depends.  I have a $40,000 2nd morgage that was adjustable at 8.75%.  This interest rate has been rising over the last year or so and may be continue to rise.  The question that I asked is whether I can make 8.75% on the money that I put into my Roth ira.  If you a stock wiz and know you will make more then 8.75% on the money in roth I would put the money in the roth.  For me I felt that a 8.75% return was guaranteed and safe (I am sort of moderate risk category)  by paying down my 2nd mortage.  \n\nYes I am not taking in account the tax advantage of 1)mortgage tax deduction and 2)tax free on capital gains on my roth.\n\nI like the idea of taking my money, paying down my 2nd mortgage and saving 8.75%.
127550
You should payoff your mortgage if you have the money anyway.  The tax credit isn't worth the interest payments on a 30-yr mortgage.
64504
Pay off! if you can, it is better to pay off bills because then you dont have intrest building up on you.
35253
Saving money (i.e. paying less interest to a bank) is never a disadvantage.  If you can afford to pay bi-weekly I select this method you will save additional interest.  If you simply make one payment extra per year you will save interest and shorten your mortgage length but it will be slightly less empactful than a bi-weekly payment plan.
1132441
There are a couple of trains of thought here.\n\nYou did not state your age so it is sort of difficult to say with certainly how to solve or answer question.\n\nIf you are not close to retirement and not worried about being on a fixed income and worried about making your current mortgage payment, then this is my suggestion.\n\nKeep your current mortgage as it is, it is mostly a tax write off with your interest.\n\nPurchase additional income properties either with a guy that need money to find fix-up and repair distress properties and place them back on the market for  sale.  This is a good way for you to earn money without doing a lot of the work yourself.  Make sure this person has  experience, so have him show you some of his work he has done in the last 2-3 months. Find out his volume, investment amount needed per deal and the return you can expect for your investment.\n\nThe other way is for you to find distress properties, foreclosures, For sale by owners, fix them and put them back on the market for sale. If you decide to go this route for every 3 houses you come across I would keep 1 for a rental property and income tax write off. If you are doing an average of 3 per month that would give you 12 properties at the end of your 12 month cycle. You should conservatively be earning approximately $10,000- $20,000 per month easily. \n\nAnother way is just to purchase property for rental through bank REO that are already for move in. At this rate it would take a lot longer to accumulate.\n\nYou can lend your money out to others using their homes as collatral for 2nd trust deed investment. 2nd trust deeds are averaging about 10-12% annual. They are normally interest only with a call date of 5 years or less.\n\nI hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.\n\n"FIGHT ON"
590303
If you have your mortgage paid, then you'll have all the interest paid as well. That's a good thing. But if you have credit card debt, go after that first. More than likely it's 4 or 5 times the interest rate on your mortgage.
1154277
What you do depends a lot on what kind of person you are.  If you have a lot of self-control and self-discipline, take it all now and invest it, living off what it generates.  If it's a large enough amount, it can form the foundation for enough growth to keep you in comfort for the rest of your life if you invest propersly.  If it were me, that's what I'd do.\n\nIf, on the other hand, you're likely to spend it all as soon as you get it, take the sum over time, so you'll always have some money coming to you.  It's not a very good solution though.  Your annual payment in 50 years is going to seem a lot smaller than the one you'd get today.  Inflation would just eat away its buying power.
227945
get a 7/1 interest only ARM product. if you are planning on staying for 5 years, get the extra 2 year buffer. depending on your tax bracket, you may also want to buy down your interest rate. you can tax deduct it now and benifit by a lower payment.\n\ngood luck,\n\namir
396013
There are a number of questions that would have to be answered before anyone could really give you advice on this.\n\nAre you definitely moving in 2 years?  When you move, will you sell the condo or rent it out.  Do you have a systematic savings plan right now?  Is your interest rate you're paying now fixed or variable?\n\nIf you are currently saving toward a down payment and are sure you'll have enough when the time comes to move, then it's fine to pay extra toward your 2nd mortgage.  Also, if your moving in 2 years is uncertain, then I would think about paying extra against the mortgage. \n\nHowever, if you are not currently saving toward a down payment, or if you are but you're not sure if you'll have enough, then I would contribute toward that savings instead of extra against the mortgage.  You want to make sure you have saved enough because you have no idea what the real estate market or interest rates will be like in 2 years.  The condo market may crash again like it did in the 80's.  It's always better to have the cash set aside.  It gives you more options down the road.
502213
If you are getting a higher interest rate from your IRA, then put your $ in to the IRA.  If the interest rate on the home loan is higher than the IRA, then put the $ on the home loan.  Which ever is going to return more $ to you.
51705
Paying off a mortgage is the equivalent of "investing" at your mortgage interest rate, so it will save you money in the long run and is generally a good idea if you have no other use for the money (such as paying off credit card debt or expenses).\n\nIf you need to access the money you paid in, you can generally get a home equity line of credit (HELOC) on your home for free.  You can then reborrow the money you put into your house at that interest rate (which normally fluctuates).  You can check out current rates at http://www.bankrate.com.
126607
Your total mortgage should be no more than 2 1/2 to 3 times your annual salary.  The higher the interest rate the lower the mortgage should be.