Choices

Years ago when Cindy Lou and I bought our house, we took out a 30-year fixed mortgage that we hoped we could afford on two teacher salaries.  We did just fine, and continue to do so.  Then about ten years ago, son-in-law Mike, who is in the mortgage business, offered us a 15-year fixed re-financing that would help us reach our goal of actually owning our place sooner.  We took the deal. 

Now we have just under six years of that loan left and I have to tell you, it feels pretty good.  Knowing that we will own our lovely Maefel Lane property before I turn 68 sounds like a real accomplishment to me, even if we did pay close to $150k when we bought it, though we’re told market value now hovers around $120k.  Many homeowners lost much value in their homes through this Great Recession, while so many lost their whole house through foreclosure.  We are grateful and feel very blessed that our losses should prove to be a whole lot less in the big picture.  

Still, our current mortgage was packaged and sold, along with so many others, from one bank to another until our note is currently held by Bank of America.  And I’m not happy about that. 

I hold as a personal belief that where we spend our dollars makes a difference.  I make it a point not to shop at Walmart because of their penchant of buying cheap in China, even at the expense of American workers.  I am offended by the story of Ohio-based Rubbermaid a few years ago notifying Walmart, one of their biggest customers, that price of raw materials had gone up and that the manufacturer needed to raise wholesale prices to break even.  Walmart declined to renegotiate the contract and Rubbermaid went belly up.  To add insult to American injury, the company’s equipment was then sold at auction to a Chinese firm.  

Then there was the story of an Asian electronics manufacturer dumping big screen televisions on the American market below cost.  The sole stateside big screen TV maker went to court to stop the practice.  Walmart waded into the fray, as you might expect.  Who did Walmart support in the litigation?  The Asian manufacturer.  To restate, we steer clear of Walmart whenever possible.

Cindy & I prefer spending locally.  For those faithful readers of The Back Porch, you know that when Cindy and I selected a new car for her a year ago, we picked the Chevy Cruz, which is built in Lordstown, Ohio.  And at this point I suspect my new car, still a few years down the road, is going to be a Honda CRV, another local build assembled in East Liberty, Ohio. 

I am not a fan of Bank of America, the holder of our mortgage.  I can’t give you exact details without doing some reading, but I’ve heard plenty in the news about Bank of America fees and other unsavory practices they enact to squeeze more money out of their customers.  

It further irritates me that we had no choice in the matter.  After our loan was closed, our note went into some kind of mortgage market that ended up with Countrywide, which was then bought by Bank of America.  We turn out to be merely mute payers to a financial institution we don’t like.  

At least until today.  We got a call from Huntington Bank last week who would like to talk to us about taking over our mortgage.  They can beat the BoA interest rate by a couple percentage points and, says Columbus-based Huntington, we can keep the same time schedule to pay off the house even with a payment a bit lower.  

I must admit, the bottom line for me right now is getting our house paid off as soon as possible.  The idea of having no mortgage in six years is truly energizing.  Still, I am unhappy about paying big money to a company I don’t like.  I hope we can keep our money a bit more local with developments later this week.   

Today’s Elder Idea:  Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Steve Jobs

image:  That’s our Maefel place during a snowier winter.  Stop by and see us!  ;-)