Money Moves for 2006, Part 1: Your Home
Tip It!In preparation for the New Year, Money Magazine has published a series of money moves that you should consider making in 2006. First up: five moves designed to ‘bubbleproof your biggest asset… and control your biggest debt.’ Read on to find out what they suggest…
(1) “Lock in a fixed rate mortgage.” Analysts are predicting that 30-year fixed mortgage rates will rise to at least 6.7% by the end of 2006. In contrast, 30-year mortgages are currently almost as cheap as 5/1 ARM rates. Thus, you can get the safety of a fixed payment for little more than the cost of an adjustable rate mortgage.
(2) “Don’t buy too much home.” This is always good advice, but with housing affordability at a 14 year low, you could end up breaking the bank if you resort to some sort of ‘creative’ financing to get into that McMansion that you’ve been dreaming of.
(3) “Go easy on the flipping.” The housing market is tightening up, and the inventory of unsold properties is growing in many areas. Thus, you may end up getting stuck with what you buy, or even take a loss, if you jump in the market hoping to make a quick buck.
(4) “Second homes are still in.” The market for vacation homes is apparently still strong so, if you own a vacation home, there’s no need to bail out (then again, perhaps it’s best to sell when the market is still strong). If you’re currently in the market for a vacation home, patience is a virtue. If the market for primary residences continues to weaken, then vacation homes may soon follow.
(5) “Beat the heating bill.” With heating oil and natural gas on the rise, with projected price increases of 33% and 50%, respectively, it’s more important than ever to conserve energy. So make sure you’re doing the little things… Open your drapes when it’s sunny, and close them at night, replace your furnace filter regularly, and close the flue on your fire place when it’s not in use (assuming that you have one). I would add to this that you should check/repair your caulk, make sure your doors are weather stripped, seal your windows if necessary, and insulate your garage.
So there you have it. Look for more tips in the coming days.
You’re reading Part 1, Your Home
Read Part 2, Your Portfolio
Read Part 3, Your Job
Read Part 4, Your Health
Read Part 5, Your Family
Read Part 6, Your Spending
[Source: CNN/Money]
Published on November 16th, 2005 - 3 Comments
Filed under: House & Home, Real Estate
About the author: Nickel is the founder and editor-in-chief of this site. He's a thirty-something family man who has been writing about personal finance since 2005, and guess what? He's on Twitter!
Related articles...
» One Year Ago This Week (November 12th – November 18th)» One Year Ago This Week (November 19th – November 25th)
» Money Moves for 2006, Part 3: Your Job
» Money Moves for 2006, Part 4: Your Health
» Money Moves for 2006, Part 5: Your Family
» Money Moves for 2006, Part 6: Your Spending
» Money Moves for 2006, Part 2: Your Portfolio
» One Year Ago This Week (November 26th – December 2nd)
Was this article useful? Please sign up to receive our content via e-mail:
3 Responses to “Money Moves for 2006, Part 1: Your Home”
Leave a Reply
Top Cards by Category
Earn $200 Bonus Cash Back after you make $500 in purchases in your first 3 months. 5% Cash Back on up to $1,500 spent in bonus categories each quarter.
Earn up to 20,000 bonus miles with your first purchase 10,000 of which count as Medallion(R) Qualification Miles. Earn up to 5,000 bonus miles when you add two additional cards to your account with initial application.
Earn 30,000 bonus miles toward Award Travel when you spend $500 on the Card in the first three months from account opening. Receive double miles on Delta purchases.
Enjoy a 0% introductory rate for 18 months on Balance Transfers and 6 months on Purchases. Earn up to 5% cash back in categories that change.
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy no balance transfer fee for a limited time. 0% introductory rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases. Earn up to 5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*
Enjoy amenities for you and your business, like: complimentary airport club access, including American Airlines Admirals Club(R) lounges.
5% Cashback Bonus in categories that change like gas, restaurants, department stores and more. Limitations apply*. Up to 1% unlimited Cashback Bonus on everything else. No annual fee
Earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else.
Reports to 3 major credit bureaus monthly and acceptance at millions of locations worldwide, including website purchases and reservations.
- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
November 17th, 2005 at 7:55 am
Good advice all! I would also suggest that if you’re older you might also look into a 15 year fixed. My wife and I are in our early 50’s and locked in a 4.75% fixed at 15 years which will having us owning our home by the time we retire (Holy 1950’s Batman!). The advantage for younger homeowners who might be moving is that you do build equity faster and get lower rates.
November 18th, 2005 at 11:53 am
If you are investing in real estate I’d just add that you need to know that tax implications. Unfortunately, a lot of folks don’t take that into consideration. I wrote this story http://www.bankrate.com/brm/ne.....0922a1.asp that offers some advice in this area.
December 11th, 2005 at 1:06 am
I am one year into an ARM with 4.5% rate now and guaranteed not to go up for another 28 months. And then no more than 1% a year based on the government T-bill or something like that(sorry). Should I move to a fixed rate now? Thanks.