WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
That’s the thing with old houses—there’s always a surprise behind the walls. I’ve seen people budget for a kitchen reno and end up gutting half the house because of hidden water damage. Makes me wonder, for folks who’ve taken on a 15-year mortgage, do you find yourselves cutting corners on design or materials just to stay afloat? Or do you just wait longer between projects?
WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
Honestly, I see a lot of people biting off more than they can chew with shorter mortgages, especially when the house is a fixer-upper. Sometimes you gotta pick between the fancy tile and, you know, actually fixing the rot in the subfloor. Curious if anyone’s tried working major repairs into their initial financing, or do you just tackle them as emergencies pop up?
WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
You’re not wrong—shorter mortgages can be a stretch, especially if you’re staring down a laundry list of repairs. Have you looked into renovation loans? Sometimes rolling repairs into the mortgage makes things less stressful, but it’s not always straightforward. Curious what’s worked for others too.
WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
- Did the 15-year refi a couple years back, right before rates shot up. Here’s what stood out for me:
- Monthly payment jumped quite a bit—about 40% higher than my old 30-year.
- Knocked down interest paid by almost half over the life of the loan. That’s real money, but it stings in the short term.
- I was nervous about cash flow with all the stuff that breaks in an older house. Ended up doing a renovation loan (Fannie Mae Homestyle). It bundled repairs into the mortgage, but there were hoops—contractor bids, inspections, and some delays.
- Closing costs were a bit higher than I expected because of the extra paperwork with the reno loan.
- On the plus side, I’m building equity way faster. That’s been nice for my peace of mind.
If you’ve got a lot of repairs, just be ready for some headaches with renovation loans. They’re helpful, but not exactly plug-and-play. If you’ve got a stable income and can handle the bigger payment, it’s worth considering... but I wouldn’t have done it if my job wasn’t super steady.
WEIGHING THE PROS AND CONS OF SWITCHING TO A 15-YEAR MORTGAGE
- Interesting take on rolling repairs into the mortgage. I’ve seen some folks struggle with reno loans—paperwork and timing can be rough, especially if contractors get backed up. Did you ever regret not just saving up for repairs instead? Curious if the faster equity outweighed the hassle for you.
