Quote:
Originally Posted by Road-Runner
After reading through hundred's of listings in the Villages over the last several years prior to buying, it seems like the bond is almost an afterthought compared to the listing price. Although "No Bond" is listed as a selling point I don't know that it registers with most buyers how much debt the average bond is on new homes until after they pick a home to buy.
With that in mind, would it be crazy to pay off the bond vs paying down the mortgage by an equivalent amount? We're still working and our house in Bradford will be a 2nd home for at least 2 more years. When we sell here we'll want to reduce our monthly costs to the minimum possible so planning on using all the proceeds from the sale to reduce our only remaining payment, the house.
Just curious if others have gone through the same decision process.
Thanks, Jim
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If I’m buying a house, if the bond is paid off, that’s a big plus! I’m much more likely to pay the asking price if the bond is paid off and there’s a new roof and HVAC system. Without those things, I may not even make an offer. On the other hand, I don’t care at all how big YOUR mortgage is. If you use the money to pay down your mortgage, that doesn’t help me at all. If you use it to pay off your bond, that DOES help me. That is, it helps me if you don’t raise your asking price by the amount of the bond. Thus, if you own the house, decreasing your mortgage won’t let you ask a penny more, but you will get to keep more when you sell. Paying off the bond may NOT let you ask more, so you have essentially lost that money, but it may be the thing that leads to a quick sale.