1984....13%....2 BR condo in Fort Lauderdale...it was like $30k ...we were excited to own our own place! Times have changed for sure. TV was only referred to as Wildwood the ending point of the turnpike.

0.0% interest rate!!
 

I have the greatest interest rate!! ZERO!! Retiring without a mortgage is just the best. Some say it‘a better to have the “nest egg” but the markets are too volatile and the banks/CD’s don’t come close to matching the interest rates for the mortgage. Plus, can’t put a price tag on FREEDOM. No debt of any kind is the best recipe for contentment and peace!!

My first mortgage was in 1973 - 7% in NJ. Bought down here 10 years ago - 4%.

I bought a ranch home in1980 and my interest rate was14%. I refinanced 3 times to get it down to 9%. I paid $50,000 for the house and sold it in 1989 for $128,500. People who complain about interest rates currently rising to over 5% should realize it could be a lot worse.

I found my parents loan papers from when they built their house in 1955. My father got a VA loan at 3.5% 30 year, I got a 2.75% 30 year loan last year.

The difference between now and 1980 is the price of the homes. In 1982 I was building town houses selling for about $75,000 and the variable interest rates were about 9%. Today that same town house is selling for about $300,000 so even with 5% that is a lot of money for these poor kids who are buying their first homes. Also don't forget the R.E. Taxes plus all the increases in costs due to bad policies by this administration.

Us bonds 9+ percent!!!!

Went to buy my first property at a very young age. I think I was about 21. It was a 1BR 1BA condo. The builder was paying the closing costs including my lawyer. Just $3000 down. I ended up buying 4 units on the first floor. I was on my way to being Carlton Sheets.

It didn't work out too well. I'm not cut out to be a landlord. Anyway, each unit was $49,990. I waited 2 years and one month and sold each unit for $75,000. The interest rate was either 8 or 9%.

I love real estate. It was a hobby throughout my life. I am always tempted to move one more time but now listen to my wife. She was a good sport about moving a whole lot and doesn't want to do it anymore.

You, of course, have a caveat with that comment. What works for you doesn't work for everybody, some would say having strong investments that exceed interest rates, great cash flow and FREEDOM to enjoy whatever, whenever is the best recipe for contentment and peace. :). To each their own.

8.5% 1976 .. 34k $ 261.44

My late 1st husband and I married in 1986 when I was 29 and he 34. We were beyond the age at least for us of wanting a big wedding so we took money gifts instead from our parents, both had been working since college graduation and saving for a number of years at that point and continued to save and were able to cash purchase a lot in 1989 for $65k in my R.I. hometown. We began construction on our home the following year and had a 1 year construction mortgage at 11% on $160k which was the cost to build our home and following completion we converted to a 9% fixed rate 15 year term mortgage. When the mortgage interest rates began to drop a few years later we refinance at 6.50%. Unable to have children I continued to work full time, and being DINKS we used most of one income to pay down our mortgage and paid it off in 1998. Three years after paying off our mortgage sadly my 49 year old husband passed suddenly from a heart attack. With no mortgage I was able to afford on my income alone to remain in my home which became much easier when I remarried several years later and my 2nd husband moved into what became our home. After making two lifestyle visits to TV we knew this was where we wanted to retire to full time, but that would not happen until I got my 20 service years in working as an R.N. for the VA as retiring a minute earlier than that would reduce my pension. I reached my 20 years this past September and retired at the end of that month. My husband being a little older than I retired 2 years ago, and while I continued to work he worked even harder getting our house sell ready doing updates and repairs to make sure we did not encounter a glitch during inspection. We listed our house the 2nd week of March for $539k which was in par with the comps. After a little 3 way bidding war it was under contract the following day for $590k and fortunately it appraised out for that amount. Immediately after closing on 4/29 we headed down to TV where we had secured a rental for 2 months while we searched for a home which we had our heart set on purchasing a new 3br CV in one of the new areas as we liked that area of TV and already had friends living in St. Catherine. We met with our TV agent who we had been in contact with before and after our last lifestyle visit the day after we arrived and she took us over to see a new Avondale model CV with a golf cart garage on a nice larger end lot in lower St. John that was being released for sale the following day for $413k. This was right in our price range as we wanted to cash purchase with some of the proceeds from the sale of our R.I. home. We fell in love with the CV and lower St. John especially since the CV is walking distance to the pool. Our TV agent worked her magic getting a hold for us when it was released for sale. And we didn't need the 2 hours to decide if we wanted to move forward with the sale, so we bypassed the $2,500 hold deposit amount and just put down the required 10% deposit and signed the contract that night and will close this coming Friday. We are already enjoying living in TV in our rental but looking forward to living in TV in our new home.

Mortgages
 

Well, as many of you know, I work for Mutual of Omaha, and I am a reverse mortgage specialist. I love the program because it really helps seniors use the equity in their home to live better....HOWEVER!

I got in the mortgage biz in 1984 and the first loan I ever did was for an accountant. He optioned for a 1 year ARM that started at 13%!! Now, that was about 3% lower than a fixed at the time, but I thought he was an idiot because there were no caps in those days, so he could be 20% the following year. But he was smarted than I. Reagan had just gotten into office after the terrible Carter years, and he knew rates would come down, and he was right!!! A great move by him!!

You had a very smart accountant! I doubt he would recommend his clients take out reverse mortgages except under very rare and exceptional circumstances.

12-13% and it was a variable. As others said good ol times. Not for me. On the bright side CD"s(not the music type) were over 12%

Glad I don't have one now. Regardless of the rate.
Proverbs 22:7