<p>I remodeled our bathroom. The only hard part was convincing my husband that this was an investment. He’s no dummy.</p>
<p>We paid ours off in the 1990s - no debt for a decade. You can save like mad without the bother of worrying about the mortgage. I understand that rates are under 4% now based on a radio ad that I heard yesterday. Don’t know if there was a gimmick but I think that rates are lower now than they’ve been in the last 20 years.</p>
<p>Our rate was at 4%. It was a 5 yr loan – we got when we refi’ed in 2005</p>
<p>Hey pea-- got pictures???</p>
<p>An inheritance paid the down payment on our first house. We bought something very very old that needed lots of work (which we did ourselves) and we felt confident would appreciate. The lot would have been worth more without the house 
When I was fortunate enough to have some small windfalls, I paid down the mortgage, in spite of being advised by CPA and tax lawyer to put it in stocks. It just made me too uncomfortable to see all the money we were spending on interest. Later windfalls went for kids’ undergrad eduations and travel. Now, if we get a windfall, we buy art/antiques. We buy at auction, things we want to live with, and are fairly knowledgeable though very small scale, low end collectors. For us I believe this makes more sense than stocks, about which we know absolutely nothing. I would also consider buying rural farmland in the near future with a windfall.</p>
<p>I guess I should have been more specific in my original post – I meant investments that are not stocks, bonds, CDs, etc, but THINGS. Two people have mentioned land… hmm, I think I might look into this. Also, buying a gold brick!
Part of my motivation for this thread is that we’ve been badly burned by the stock market, like most people. At any rate, any and all tips are appreciated (thanks, BCEagle!).</p>
<p>Also, as for paying off the mortgage. I’ve been thinking about paying down the principal a couple of hundred dollars every month (which we would not miss), rather than going into savings to pay off big chunks of it. This seems like a no-brainer to me. There doesn’t seem to be anything I could invest $200/month into that would bring a better return. Am I wrong here?</p>
<p>toledo, Can you share whatever your husband finds out about that bank?</p>
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<p>If you look at an amortization table for your loan you can see what a big chunk of money would mean in the overall interest you are going to pay on your mortgage loan.</p>
<p>^^apologies if you already know this…
it was a revelation to me when I finally figured it out, but I don’t understand much at all about economics, etc.</p>
<p>mousegray, the Wall Street Journal journal had a great article about a week ago about offbeat investments that are doing well. The area that intrigued me the most was buying property intended as student housing near universities. You can invest buying individual units, or invest in funds that own large apartment complexes.
After my poor stock choices (Webvan, big investment now worthless; Google, no investment at initial IPO because I thought it was overpriced), I would rather invest in something I can understand.</p>
<p>alh-
You sure seem to have luck with a lot of windfalls! Will you adopt me??</p>
<p>One thing that I’ve collected, more for hobby and pleasure than investment, is wine. But I keep it properly cellared and dont drink all that much. I’ve found, by looking on the internet before I give away a bottle I paid $30-50 for, that it was worth 10 times that!! </p>
<p>I havent kept up with the wine purchasing, and much prefer to drink a nice bottle than resell it, and I only have a few that are full cases (1989 or so vintage) but I do have some that are probably worth a lot, and will be quite yummy!! I gave away (on purpose-- the person deserved it and was really appreciative!) a valuable bottle of Opus 1. It felt better to give it to her than to have it myself or save it for a rainy day.</p>
<p>My H and I had the “pay off the mortgage”? conversation earlier this year. He was really motivated to do it it’s a fairly small amount, and I think psychologically he would like to reach his 65th B-day next year with no mortgage. All very admirable. I on the other hand, saw all the things around our house that needed attention after years of deferred maintenance, and convinced him – since we’re not planning to move or downsize or relocate in any foreseeable future – that if we had the flexibility to invest something in our home right now, those things should take priority. We put together a list of projects, that also included paying a little extra on the mortgage each month. Most of the projects are relatively small by themselves, but added up the amount is not insignificant. (skylights replaced, refinishing floors, electrical work, built-in bookcases, a new front stoop). A new bathroom is also on the wish list but we’re going to put that off till next year. Paying down the mortgage gives my H great satisfaction; getting the house in better shape gives me great satisfaction. And we agree that both of our approaches are investments in our home.</p>
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<p>^^this is really interesting to me. I have been thinking about this sort of investing for more than 30 years when my parents and their friends did this sort of thing. My very limited perspective is that it works if best if you actually own the whole bldg and have more control. What do others know about this?? I’ve been looking at very small houses, and 2 or 3 family houses within walking distance to the local university one of my kids attends for grad school and just don’t think they have fallen enough in price to make them worthwhile. If it takes a rent from him and a rent from someone else to pay the mortage does that make sense? If something comes along, inexpensive enough that it doesn’t require a mortage, that seems worthwhile to me. Especially since I expect him to stay in the area a very long time. And who knows? It could happen. Nothing is really selling in that area. It is very time consuming though to watch the real estate market imho</p>
<p>jym626: I have been lucky. I would like to adopt both you and the wine, but am afraid I would not have enough self-control to let that wine appreciate. We drink an embarrassingly inexpensive house red. Quantity not quality for us sadly ;)</p>
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<p>You could only buy about 18 or 19 ounces right now with $25,000.</p>
<p>One-ounce coins would probably be the best way to go. US Eagles may have some tax advantages over other coins.</p>
<p>I looked up that great NZB rate, you have to be in person in OZ/NZ to open it or be a resident to open it online, and your check has to reach them within 3 days if you open it online.</p>
<p>I have found it is nearly impossible to transfer funds between banks internationally, wire transfer yes, transfer with no fees, no.</p>
<p>We opened accounts with them ages ago. To send them money, we have to drive to Boston to a bank that will do the transfer.</p>
<p>If there was an easy way to do this, I think that they would get inundated with money from the US.</p>
<p>alh-
If you adopt me, I’ll bring the wine-- my treat. Really.</p>
<p>As for college real estate-- my father had that idea when I was in grad school. He wanted me to live in a house he’d buy and find roommates for the years I was there-- then he’d keep it and manage it long distance. While it might have been a good investment, you have to have the right kind of personality to manage real estate (especially college housing, as it gets trashed by lots of revolving door tenants and roommates fighting over who pays what), and neither he nor I have it. I am glad we didn’t do it. That said, my DH had I tried to use my old townhouse (I had when I was single) as rental property. Also learned the hard way that people will take advantage of your kindness. Finally took a bath on the property and sold it. Many people love rental property-- you just really have to have the stomach for it. I couldnt do it.</p>
<p>^^at one point we had a house with an “accessory” apt which we rented at a below market rate to grad students we knew, mainly to avoid advertising and be sure of good tenants. The last tenant, after a couple of years, raised the rent himself!! If we still had that house we could adopt you and you could live in the apt. That place had an excellent cellar. Perfect temp.</p>
<p>I think we could be good property managers for our own kids, but that is probably about it. </p>
<p>And now it suddenly seems necessary to go to the market and buy some decent wine for the weekend. jym - you really have started me craving something absolutely wonderful lol.</p>
<p>LOL, alh, I’d love to downsize!! BTW, here’s a good thread for you to read! <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/992231-what-your-favorite-red-wine.html?[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/992231-what-your-favorite-red-wine.html?</a></p>
<p>We hire management company to do rental for us. Personally, I do not have the gut to collect if tenants have trouble to pay rent. If your rental property is a nice house, generally, you can get good tenants. Management companies advertise and do screen tenants (including credit check) for you. Cash flow from rental is not that great. There are a lot costs involved in renting a property. </p>
<p>H and I both prefer to pay off mortgage ASAP for peace of mind. Mortgage interest is not tax credit and it is a below line deduction, on your schedule A. You get a portion back as a tax benefit (25% or 35% on a dollar depends on your tax bracket). If your mortgage rate is 5% and your tax bracket is 25%, you still pay the lender 3.75% interest after your tax benefit (for 100k loan, you still pay $3750 interst in one year after your tax benefit). When you pay off mortgage, you pay 0% interest. Sure some people can make more than 3.75% on their investment. But the truth is for vast majority of people like myself (not BCEagle), who do not have time or ability, the investment for last decade has been negative. For us, it might as well try to pay off mortgage ASAP. The feeling of debt-free is absolutely nice.</p>