Mortgage & Refinancing Information

How Much Interest is Your Home Equity Earning?


How much interest are you earning on your home equity? If you answered nothing, zero, zilch, zip you are correct. What would you do if you could get triple compounding on your equity? Would you take action and build a fortune that would allow you to pay off the mortgage and create a retirement fund?

We use a strategy called Early Mortgage Pay Off System or EMPOS?. The strategy involves using common knowledge that is applied uncommonly. In other words, we have been told for years that a fixed mortgage is the way to the American Dream of having our homes paid off free and clear. But is that really a dream, when all along the way you struggle to make those large payments? What if you could reduce your monthly mortgage payments and increase your cash flow?

By using the right mortgage product you can keep your monthly payments low and redirect some of that cash back to yourself in an investment that gets triple compounding because it is tax deferred.

First, you examine to see if a Pick-a-payment Mortgage is applicable to your situation. This type of mortgage product allows you to choose between four options each month. The options are a 30-year payment, a 15-year payment, interest only or minimum monthly payment, which has a low start rate (currently 1.95% to 4.95% depending on the investor's, credit, income and other market factors). You can match your loan payments to your variable or seasonal income and begin using the saved income to create wealth.

This mortgage product uses a monthly Adjustable Rate concept to determine the actual rate of interest charged. The loan is linked to one of various indexes like the Cost of Funds Index (COFI), the Monthly Treasury Average (MTA), Certificate of Deposit Index (CODI), Cost of Savings Index (COSI) or the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). A loan consultant can determine the index and program that best fits your individual financial situation. Fixed percentage points (the "Margin") are added to the index and establishes your effective interest rate and monthly payment

Many of the super elite and very wealthy use this type of mortgage on their homes when they could afford to pay their mortgages off today. Why? Because they leverage their mortgage as a tool to create wealth. Even Alan Greenspan has an ARM mortgage on his home when he could afford to pay it off. History shows the ARM mortgage consistently outperforms a fixed rate.

What do I do with all my monthly savings you ask? We like to see it go into an environment where the money can earn triple compounding. Triple compounding is where you earn interest on your principal, interest on the interest and interest on the amount that would have gone to taxes. One of the best places to get tax deferral that creates a triple compound is with life insurance. In addition, there are equity indexed life insurance products that allow you to participate in the stock market while it is up and lock in the gains when the market falters. It is the best of both worlds because it earns at better than traditional fixed and is safer than a variable insurance product.

You may have sold yourself on life insurance being a useless product. Well, consider the following example of life insurance compared to a ROTH IRA.

The IRA offers no creditor protection if you get sued, the equity in your home is always on the table for a creditor to take. Additionally, your contributions to an IRA are limited, there is no death benefit if you prematurely pass away, and there is no disability aspect among other features.

After the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Wall Street Journal had an article that said there were only five tax-advantaged investments left:

? Your personal mortgage

? Qualified retirement plans (i.e., EP, 401K, IRA, Pension, Profit Sharing, etc.)

? Tax Free Bonds

? Live Insurance

? Annuities.

The reason that life insurance was listed is because life insurance offers you the opportunity to have tax-deferred growth/compounding on your money as well as access on a tax advantaged basis.

What if we took the power of tax-deductible borrowing and invested the money tax-free? This is done by refinancing or using a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). A client could take out money and fund the maximum in their equity-indexed universal life product to the extent they do not violate tax law and create a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC). Too, the client who is 59 ˝ could place some proceeds into an single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) and fund the life insurance over the next couple of years directly. If the client were at least 55 years of age their situation could be appraised under the substantially equal payment exclusion to the 10% excise tax penalty on distributions prior to 59 ˝ . There are other planning opportunities and the client would have the proceeds to invest, assuming their financials line up with the requirements of the lender.

Like any type of investing, there are pros and cons. The pro is that you can create significant wealth and is safer than playing the stock market. The con is that you would tap out equity from your home and by using one of many strategies; you might not pay your home off under the thirty years unless you choose to. However, you would likely build enough to pay off the mortgage in a lump sum if you cared to, or continue to use the mortgage interest deductions when you need them - as a retiree. Also, the amount of estate tax can be reduced since you only pay estate tax on what you own. There are numerous pros that outweigh the cons and you can find a savant on either side of the pro and con. Ultimately, a person must make up their own mind and begin to think outside of the box or join the masses that play it safe and will have to sweep floors in a retail store during their retirement years.

In closing, remember, equity can only be tapped two ways (1) selling the property or (2) an equity loan, but when you need it most the loan is not always that easy to get. If you want to create a significant amount of wealth and have a few years to still pay on your mortgage, you might want to examine to see if utilizing your equity to provide for your future is appropriate.

James Burns

Law Office of James Burns

18662 MacArthur Blvd, 2nd Floor

Irvine, CA. 92612

(949) 440-3243

Š James Burns, Esq.

James Burns is an attorney with two law degrees and helps individuals and small businesses with Life Planning Solutions, a trademark concept he created.

  


MORE RESOURCES:

Washington Times

The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed By Connecticut ...
SBWire (press release), WI - 16 hours ago
Westport, Connecticut based Mortgage Broker Don Caiati reveals mortgage refinancing secrets at a new web site that is full of free reports, a home buying ...
Refinancing suddenly booms Honolulu Advertiser
Lenders Backlogged By Refinancing Rush Washington Post
Low Mortgage Rates Bring Refinancing Boom MSNBC
Forbes - Washington Times
all 25 news articles


Average Mortgage Rate Hits 5%, Lowest in Decades
New York Times, United States - 8 hours ago
Of course, buying a home is a more lengthy process than simply calling up a mortgage broker to refinance, and activity typically slows during the holiday ...
US Banks Offer Mortgages Below 5% After Fed Action Bloomberg
Rates lowest since '71; time to refinance? Modesto Bee
Long-Term Mortgage Rate Falls Again Wall Street Journal
Forbes - Boston Globe
all 829 news articles


Cardoza proposal could aid housing crisis
Stockton Record, CA - 1 hour ago
Under the Cardoza plan, the payment on that mortgage refinanced to 4 percent fixed rate would drop to $1194 a month. Contact reporter Bruce Spence at (209) ...


REFILE-UPDATE 1-US mortgage demand dipped before Fed move-MBA
Reuters - Jan 7, 2009
The jump in applications during December may have been driven by homeowners already "on the fence" and prepared to refinance on a drop in mortgage rates, ...
Mortgage applications down in latest survey Forbes
Week-to-week mortgage applications down 8.2% MarketWatch
Fewer apply for home loans; credit line delinquencies increase Los Angeles Times
KVOA.com - Kansas City Star
all 63 news articles


Boston Globe

Fed’s Rosengren Calls for ‘Concerted’ Fiscal, Monetary Policies
Bloomberg - 3 hours ago
... to purchase or refinance homes,” Rosengren said. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped for a 10th week to 5.01 percent yesterday, ...
Rosengren sees path to recovery Boston Globe
Fed's Rosengren says recession more severe than thought Reuters
all 50 news articles


stv.tv

Congressional Press Release on Mortgage Deal
Wall Street Journal - 8 hours ago
"Despite efforts by Congress to address this issue, not enough lenders have come to the table to help borrowers with bad mortgages refinance into new, ...
Citigroup reaches agreement with key senators on mortgage ... Minneapolis Star Tribune
Citigroup agrees to allow judges to help modify some mortgages IdahoStatesman.com
all 541 news articles


TopNews

Question & Answer on mortgage refinancing
Boston Herald, United States - Jan 1, 2009
If I refinance the mortgage on my current house, will I hurt my chances for getting a loan for a new place later on? A: No. Refinancing a loan shouldn’t ...
Mortgage Rates Hit 37-Year Low Poynter.org
30 Year Fixed Rates Drop to 5.10 percent Best Syndication
Home-Mortgage Rates' Next Stop: Below 5% Wall Street Journal
Ventura County Star - Wall Street Journal
all 457 news articles


Refinancing shoots through the roof
Plano Star Courier, TX - 14 hours ago
“Quite a few people have remortgaged,” said Craig Jarrell, loan officer with Pulaski Mortgage. “Most people who refinance are new homeowners as recent as ...


Mortgage refinancing skyrockets
Cincinnati.com, OH - Jan 3, 2009
... 2009 With US mortgage rates the lowest in 30 years, local lenders say they've seen a strong surge in loan applications as homeowners seek to refinance ...
Waco banks seeing a boom in mortgage refinance applications Waco Tribune Herald
Borrowers seeking to refinance may face challenges WTOP
As mortgage rates slide, refinancing applications take off Dallas Morning News
all 15 news articles


Low mortgage rates tough to get
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - Jan 7, 2009
Warshawsky said people who have less than 20 percent equity or who are trying to take cash out in a refinance are being told they need to buy mortgage ...

mortgage refinance - Google News

Article List | Index | Site Map
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved.