Friday, November 11, 2005
Almost Mortgage Free 就 嚟 供 完 屋
Today's a holiday (Veterans Day) here in the U.S., and I have the day off work. Hooray! It's not often that I have a chance to 偷 懶 (tau1 laan2) loaf. I'm sitting at home right now blogging away.
When I was younger, every so often I would hear of people holding a mortgage-burning party. That's a celebration that people hold when then have paid off the mortgage on their house and no longer owe any money to the bank. But with the huge increases in home prices and mortgages, it's getting harder and harder to fully pay off a mortgage. For most people, it probably takes 30 years to do so. As a result, mortgage-burning parties are something that one seldom hears about anymore.
According to an Oct. 23, 2005 newspaper article "Mortgage burning in vogue:"
When was the last time you heard about a mortgage-burning party? How antique. How last century. Do homeowners actually pay down their mortgages to zero anymore, or do they simply refinance every few years until it is time to sell or die?
Actually, the article says that Americans are focused on paying down their mortgage debt, even if mortgage-burning parties are uncommon.
I just received my latest mortgage statement, and it says that I owe a grand total of $6,807. That means the day that I have always dreamed of is not far off. Within a few months--before I leave for HK next May--my mortgage will be paid off, and the bank will no longer own part of my home. What a happy feeling that will be. It definitely calls for a mortgage-burning party or celebration of some kind. However, I doubt that I actually will burn the mortgage or promissory note. Those are legal documents that should be preserved as financial records.
It would be interesting to know more about mortgages in HK. Come to think of it, I don't even know how to say mortgage in Cantonese. Here in the U.S., mortgages typically have a 30-year or 15-year term and require monthly payments. What terms are common in HK? Do most HK homeowners (flatowners) make monthly payments? I hope to learn more about this subject next year.
On Wednesday (Nov. 9), I was in San Francisco for a big meeting with our expert consultants in a major construction case that I am handling. The case is set to go to a 2-day mediation in January. During a break in the meeting, I got a chance to talk with S, my consultant friend who regularly travels to HK on business. I shared with him the happy news that I have gotten leave from work to study in HK next year and that my dream actually is going to happen. S told me that it looks like his HK construction case is going to settle, which means that he may stop going to HK. That's too bad--I was looking forward to running around with S in HK. I also asked S his view of whether HK is likely to have a financial crisis next year, as mentioned in a recent blog from amy_in a crazy hong kong. According to S, this seems very unlikely. S normally gauges the condition of HK's economy by what he sees with hotel rates and reservations. In recent months, HK hotel prices have risen sharply and reservations have become very tight, all of which leads S to conclude that HK's economy is strong and that a financial crisis will not occur anytime soon. That's reassuring! ¶ 9:51 AM
When I was younger, every so often I would hear of people holding a mortgage-burning party. That's a celebration that people hold when then have paid off the mortgage on their house and no longer owe any money to the bank. But with the huge increases in home prices and mortgages, it's getting harder and harder to fully pay off a mortgage. For most people, it probably takes 30 years to do so. As a result, mortgage-burning parties are something that one seldom hears about anymore.
According to an Oct. 23, 2005 newspaper article "Mortgage burning in vogue:"
When was the last time you heard about a mortgage-burning party? How antique. How last century. Do homeowners actually pay down their mortgages to zero anymore, or do they simply refinance every few years until it is time to sell or die?
Actually, the article says that Americans are focused on paying down their mortgage debt, even if mortgage-burning parties are uncommon.
I just received my latest mortgage statement, and it says that I owe a grand total of $6,807. That means the day that I have always dreamed of is not far off. Within a few months--before I leave for HK next May--my mortgage will be paid off, and the bank will no longer own part of my home. What a happy feeling that will be. It definitely calls for a mortgage-burning party or celebration of some kind. However, I doubt that I actually will burn the mortgage or promissory note. Those are legal documents that should be preserved as financial records.
It would be interesting to know more about mortgages in HK. Come to think of it, I don't even know how to say mortgage in Cantonese. Here in the U.S., mortgages typically have a 30-year or 15-year term and require monthly payments. What terms are common in HK? Do most HK homeowners (flatowners) make monthly payments? I hope to learn more about this subject next year.
On Wednesday (Nov. 9), I was in San Francisco for a big meeting with our expert consultants in a major construction case that I am handling. The case is set to go to a 2-day mediation in January. During a break in the meeting, I got a chance to talk with S, my consultant friend who regularly travels to HK on business. I shared with him the happy news that I have gotten leave from work to study in HK next year and that my dream actually is going to happen. S told me that it looks like his HK construction case is going to settle, which means that he may stop going to HK. That's too bad--I was looking forward to running around with S in HK. I also asked S his view of whether HK is likely to have a financial crisis next year, as mentioned in a recent blog from amy_in a crazy hong kong. According to S, this seems very unlikely. S normally gauges the condition of HK's economy by what he sees with hotel rates and reservations. In recent months, HK hotel prices have risen sharply and reservations have become very tight, all of which leads S to conclude that HK's economy is strong and that a financial crisis will not occur anytime soon. That's reassuring! ¶ 9:51 AM
