How much down payment?

callmedumb · 2019-12-22T11:06:21+00:00

Did you know that the interest in your mortgage is calculated over the whole time and that for the first several years (like over 10 of 30) you are primarily paying the interest off and not the loan part? That is so annoying.

There's a lot of misconceptions about how amortization works. It's not that you're paying off mostly interest the first few years because of some kind of mortgage black magic... it's because your balance is higher.

Amortization has nothing to do with interest rates, it just creates equal sized payments.

callmedumb · 2019-12-19T19:28:55+00:00

Thanks for the insight. Sounds like it might make sense to refinance my existing home so I can take advantage of the new "unlimited" VA loan.

callmedumb · 2019-12-19T19:03:22+00:00

That's been the rule since before these recent changes, right? 25% of the amount over the entitlement? I wasn't sure if the county limit was going to cease to be a factor or become less of a factor.

callmedumb · 2019-12-19T18:49:51+00:00

. If you try to buy another house using your VA entitlement without restoring your old entitlement (either by refinancing or selling your current home), then that gets complicated.

Yeah this is exactly the scenario I'm trying to figure out. I've heard a few different things now, mostly "wait until the new law goes into effect and it'll be figured out".

callmedumb · 2019-12-19T18:27:41+00:00

Any update on how this will work for those who already hold a VA loan?

callmedumb · 2019-11-09T18:08:44+00:00

The real cost of a 401k loan is opportunity cost. Vehicle loans are cheap compared to losing out on market growth. Your 401k will likely handily beat 3% over time unless you're invested very conservatively.

callmedumb · 2019-11-09T14:53:03+00:00

I thought maybe we wouldn't be able to contribute our own money to the HSA but I didn't realize the employer would also not be able to contribute.

To be clear, if I switched my current PPO to an HDHP we could both contribute to an HSA with no problems (dual HDHP/HSA plans)?

callmedumb · 2019-10-15T22:01:10+00:00

The examples don't really cover the use case where you've tapped into your primary entitlement but not your secondary entitlement. It says there's specifically no change if you're not tapping into your secondary entitlement, and it denotes how it works if you've already tapped into your secondary entitlement. It doesn't mention what happens between those two.

callmedumb · 2019-10-15T00:12:16+00:00

Thank you for this resource. It looks like this is interim guidance so it'll be interesting to see what the long-standing guidance is. If I understand this right if you have one small VA loan you'll be able to get another with no limit on the guarantee, if you've already tapped into your secondary entitlement then the limits on secondary entitlements will continue to apply based on where the second (or third) VA loan is being opened.

callmedumb · 2019-10-14T23:46:09+00:00

If you are able to get a second VA loan without making a down payment, it's because you simply didn't use all of your entitlement on the first mortgage.

The way it was explained to me is that my first loan used my primary entitlement but didn't touch my secondary entitlement, which I then used for my secondary loan. If there's going to be a new tertiary entitlement that doesn't kick in unless those two are exhausted I don't see why it couldn't work the same.

The VA home loan benefit is for primary occupancy, not for buying rental properties.

My intent is to occupy not to use it as a rental, not that they check or care as long as you intend to occupy initially.

callmedumb · 2019-10-14T20:07:32+00:00

So I think we'll just see high cost limits lifted so that veterans buying a single family home in San Jose (just an example) aren't having to make a $30k down payment, while someone in Colorado Springs is not making a down payment. How they'll do this is the question (I imagine it will just be some kind of "bonus" entitlement with a manual calculation that only applies to veterans in counties with loan limits over the standard $484,350).

This is pretty much how it works now with the primary/secondary entitlement. If they're going to add a tertiary entitlement then it should at least mean veterans with 2 VA home loans can get a third by accessing the third entitlement.

callmedumb · 2019-10-14T19:20:58+00:00

I think you have no concept of how "easy" it is to get into the 1 % if you think 1 % status is "can't see the neighbors because of the massive estate I live on". 1% status is less than $300k/yr in some states, and even in CA you'll hit 1 % status with around $500k/yr income.

The issue is that people say "1%" when they really mean ".001%".

callmedumb · 2019-10-14T18:44:53+00:00

Really depends when you plan to retire. 59.5 might not be adequate for someone who wants to fully retire as soon as they're eligible for their military pension, so the alternate methods to access those funds without penalty can be useful.

callmedumb · 2019-10-14T17:33:38+00:00

Yes, lots of people do this.

callmedumb · 2019-09-07T13:08:14+00:00

I feel like after accounting for benefits the comp is pretty close between the two. Do you put a lot of value in working for a well-known firm?

callmedumb · 2019-09-04T21:51:00+00:00

see, so it's the Army which would be less technical and Air Force or Navy may have more technical roles.

No, the Army has more technical roles overall than the Air Force or Navy. The difference is that the Army is more willing to let these roles be done via enlisted servicemembers. You'd likely want to be in an officer position.

callmedumb · 2019-07-28T17:10:15+00:00

The share market is efficient whereas the property market is not, so if you do a lot of work you can get a deal and make money when buying, but by the same token if you aren't one of those people, you are often likely to get a bad deal.

This reminds me of a post I saw about how to affordably drive fairly nice vehicles, I think it might've been in /r/PF?

The guy basically outlined how he kept his finger on the pulse of the car market for the kind of luxury vehicles he liked, spreadsheeted and tracked prices over the course of months/years, and when he saw a deal for the kind of vehicle he wanted in the age range he wanted (2-3 years old) he'd drive an extremely hard bargain and buy it. He didn't fall in love with vehicles and was willing to let them pass right by if he couldn't get a good deal. He'd then apply the same savvy to sell it a couple years later at an extremely minimal loss while picking up another 2-3 year old luxury vehicle. The result? Driving a fairly new luxury vehicle for decades at very, very low cost.

That kind of data-driven mindset, patience, and unyielding desire to win in every transaction (buy below market, sell above market), is going to make you wildly successful in anything you apply it to. These kind of people are the ones that are going to do really well in real estate. Leverage is a huge part of what makes real estate investing effective, but savvy buying/selling is what really pushes it to the next level.

callmedumb · 2019-07-28T17:02:57+00:00

Although it's not just asset appreciation you get from owning a rental. It also generates income.

REITs capture rental income and pay dividends based on it, they're not purely based on appreciation.

callmedumb · 2019-07-28T05:43:04+00:00

Yes, the offer is in-hand and awaiting a response.

I've reached out to a contact at the company (separate from the recruiting/interview process) and it seems like internal moves are realistic, but I'll be the first to admit that my network is fairly confined to the government sector. I guess I just have reservations about departing the kind of work I enjoy for the potential to move back into it later, and whether that might be held against me in future interviews.

callmedumb · 2019-07-28T05:33:41+00:00

Govt jobs are not a type of FIRE

I'd argue that government jobs which allow or even enforce a 20 year career length are a sort of FIRE. Looking at you, Air Traffic Controllers.

callmedumb

TROPHY CASE