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[–] 99 points 2 years ago* (44 children)

Yup. Bought at the end of 2019, refinanced in late 2020. Currently have a 15 year mortgage at a fixed 2.1% APR. I literally cannot afford to give this up.

It's less that I want to leave this house, specifically, and more that I just want out of this state. For multiple reasons unrelated to my good mortgage deal, I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future.

On the bright side, I never thought I'd actually own a house so I'll take the win.

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  • [–] 30 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    Ditto. 2.6%. Car loan at 3.2%. Can’t afford a new car, can’t afford to move these days. Yeah, it’s hard to bitch when you’re glad to have a home, but it’s a figurative “house arrest” when market forces trap you.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago*

    Yep, 2.7% here. Bought in summer 2020. I really like the house, but the property is challenging as its a big slope. I didn't realize all the challenges in dealing with that. However, it's starting to grow on me and I'm still getting what I want out of my land its... just... more work and money. I got such a good deal it doesn't make sense to leave.

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    [–] 73 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I recently gave up my 3% mortgage from 2013 in exchange for a 7% mortgage. It hurts, but it was worth it to get out of Florida.

    In the end, my housing costs actually didn't change that much because my home insurance rates were skyrocketing.

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  • [–] 73 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    but it was worth it to get out of Florida.

    You could put almost any horrific thing in front of that phrase and it sound valid.

    I had to keep my arm in a tub of fire ants for 5 minutes, but it was worth it to get out of Florida.

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  • [–] 25 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I had to cut off several limbs leading to a bad case of sepsis...

    I had to sell a few children (not mine) along the way engage in some other morally questionable activities...

    I had to sacrifice my first born like Abraham did his Isaac...

    ...but it was worth it to get out of Florida

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    [–] 61 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'm in year 17 of my 5 year starter home. I can't afford to upgrade now. I'm gonna die in this house.

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  • [–] 66 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Hey, don’t be so glum. You could die at work for example.

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  • [–] 56 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    Same story as everyone else. Bought pre-covid, refinanced, now sitting pretty. We desperately want to move, but I would have to make like $50k more a year for the same quality of life.

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    [–] 33 points 2 years ago

    Had 30 yr 3.84%, refinanced in 2021 to 15 yr 1.999%. it's the cheapest money I'll ever have.

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  • [–] 33 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Kinda strange reading all these comments about how people dislike their house and where they live, but can't imagine giving up their mortgage rate.

    The almighty mortgage handcuffs, the true American dream.

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    [–] 31 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    2.875 here, my monthly payment is $545. I want to move, but it would be financially stupid to do so

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  • [–] 29 points 2 years ago

    Oh, yeah. This isn't the house I wanted to die in, but unless we have another near-negative interest rate drop, we're here for the long term.

    "Are you willing to relocate?" has now become a hard "no."

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  • [–] 25 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    And people moved away from cities during COVID to decrease their cost of living and get a bigger place while still being able to work from home. They bought with lover interest rates in their mortgage.

    Now employers want a return to office. The employees can't afford to move back.

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  • [–] 21 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Are we like not even allowed to talk about renting out our home in order to upgrade or something? That's the play right now. Net present value of your almostfree money is maximized by turning it into cashflow. Plus you don't blow 6% on closing costs, and it's all the same to the bank in terms of getting another loan. It actually ends up being an equity asset as well as income.

    Err, what I meant to say was murder all landlords.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    It's possible, if you have the savings for a second down payment. I'm pretty sure you also lose certain tax advantages if you convert your primary home to an income property. Depending on how long you've owned it, that can work out to a serious hit.

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    3.25% 30 year... 27 years left.

    But I'm OK staying. I've made huge improvements. Upgraded the electrical panel from 100A to 200A, added solar panels, added a retractible awning. Hot tub is coming.

    It's a nice house, with a good yard, will be fun to add playground stuff when we have grand-kids.

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    [–] 20 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Bought my house just before the crash in 2007. Felt screwed over as I went underwater and was stuck with my 6.5% loan while interest rates and home values plummeted (and because my mortgage was privately held, no HARP refi option.

    Finally after nearly 15 years not only go out from under water but built enough equity for a no cost refinance. Got into a 2.25% loan.

    Sad part is, despite the lower rate, due to skyrocketing insurance and taxes, my payment is no cheaper

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    [–] 19 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    I’m one of them. For a lot of reasons my partner and I want to move, but we have a 3% mortgage. Even though we have a large amount of equity, we still can’t afford to buy now. I’m looking a getting a loan from my parents, which is ridiculous considering our situation but almost 8% interest rates mean our payment would just about double from what we have now.

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    [–] 18 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    Lucky 'mericans. In Canada, fixed mortgages are still renegotiated every 5 years or so, nearly every homeowner with a mortgage is getting wrecked by the interest rates.

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    [–] 15 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Its less of a problem of lock in here in Australia. Our rates tend to only be fixed for the first few years. Then you go to the variable rate. We have an opposite problem, where we have what's known as a mortgage cliff. People who signed up at affordable repayment amounts end that lock in period and have payments jump significantly. Some are forced to sell.

    Being locked in seems better than being forced to sell.

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    [–] 14 points 2 years ago

    2.75% here. Yeah... I don't like where I live but I ain't moving unless I have to

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (7 children)

    3.6 here (bought 22) and not fucking moving until rates are at least below 4 again. If that means I don’t ever move again then so be it

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    7-8% rates are bad by recent standards but not awful by historical standards. Depending on where I move and how much house I can get, I'd be willing to give up my 2.9% rate for something in that range.

    There are a few other factors to consider right now, anyway. I'm a Houston resident, and this is supposed to be a particularly bad hurricane season along with a historic heat wave. My wife is terrified of the state's newest right wing legislative push, as well. Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington is looking better and better as Texas brains are poisoned by MAGA media. And, despite having a gangbusters growth, my O&G employer decided to cut our bonuses from last year - so I've got one eye on the job market again. Our water bill jumped by 9% in a single year. Our interior roadways are falling apart, with no sign that the city or state plans to clean them up or improve access to public transit. HISD is being cannibalized by the governor's cronies, so I won't have anywhere to send my kids in a few years.

    Would I pay an extra $500/mo to live in a state that isn't run by pedophiles, bigots, and zealots? Absolutely. Bonus points if it got me out of the concrete jungle and put me in spitting distance of some decent mass transit.

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    [–] 13 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    My wife and I were lucky enough to be able to purchase a home at a decent rate and then refinance a few years later to an even better rate (around 3.5%). We bought in 2019, when the world was still somewhat sane. The thought of trying to sell and get a new home at the higher rate makes me sick to my stomach and I feel bad for my brother-in-law.

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  • [–] 9 points 2 years ago*

    We bought in 2016 with 50k down at 3.5% and our payments were $2,800. We refinanced and now our payments are $2,400. Zillow says if we bought our same house today, at today's rate with the same amount down the payments would be $7,700, an utterly unfathomable amount.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    The dropping interest rate is one of the main reasons that housing prices have skyrocketed in the past 20 years. People judge housing prices by what they can afford monthly and interest rates directly impact that figure. It's only a matter of time for housing prices to fall drastically if interest rates remain at 7%.

    And yes, I have a 500k loan at 2.5% on a 30yr fixed mortgage. Maybe we'll sell our house in 15 years, but otherwise, forget it! I have zero interest in paying it off early.

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    [–] 11 points 2 years ago

    When we were buying (2019), my in-laws were pushing for us to just get a starter home, and then upgrade in a few years. Both my wife and I were like "no, we're buying once and being done with." So we went a little higher than I was comfortable with.

    However, our house has increased by 50% since we bought it, and we were able to refinance to 3% during the pandemic. Which was and is fantastic. But, yeah, we don't even think about moving now.

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