Ryan McFarland

With the feds reducing the interest rate and the economic downturn in the headlines for some this might be a good time to refinance their homes. We just went through that. Mortgages are an awfully complex part of finances. In my estimation we would not benefit from refinancing at this point. We could get a lower interest rate but the fees that are stuck on the bill the bank gives you are pretty steep. The thousands that we would have to pay might be worth the expense if we foresaw staying in the house for the next 25 or 30 years. But we anticipate paying off the loan entirely in 10 more years. A percentage point drop makes even less sense knowing we won’t be paying as much in interest anyway. If anyone has a variable rate mortgage this would definitely be the time to refinance and lock in the low rates.

After our trip to Cambodia and Vietnam we really started to consider buying property overseas. Land prices are much less expensive in developing countries and it is fairly easy to predict how population growth and urban expansion will push property values up. Other than Mexico i had never really thought about considering land purchase outside of the United States. There was a fantastic resort property that Mike, Ailis, Karna and i rode by on our afternoon of scooter rentals in Na Trang. Hmmm…