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Chet...you need to do a reality check with today's market. Things have changed.....and deals with an all cash buyer far outpace people who are walking around with the possibility of obtaining a mortgage.
If i had a nickel for every contingency i have seen i could pay cash for a palace.
Alas, that is just the reality of today's market. Buyers are skittish; banks are dysfunctional; appraisers are tougher than ever; and anyone who can bypass these hurdles is a far better buyer than someone who has to jump through fire to get that mortgage that was 'promised'.
Cash is king...by a wide margin. Use it to your advanatge.
Thanks for the really good input -- There are some important points raised that I will check-out before moving ahead. (We've got a pretty well structured 401K/pension/annuity/equity/cash pool and the cash purchase will still leave us with some reasonable degree of liquidity).
It just doesn't seem like the relatively flat ROI on investments today justifies a mortgage, even at the prevailing low rates. Of course, that could change, at which point, the cash vs mortgage (and investment) picture would, likewise, change. I don't think we will have a problem getting a HELOC (based on prior pre-approvals, etc), but, will check that out first.
I would have said pay cash until the past year. What if you get into your new place and don't like it after a few months to a year? If you want to move to a new place, you might have to do a contingency offer (would need to sell your house to afford new house) because you don't have enough cash for a non-contingency offer. Why not take out a mortgage now, then if you are sure you really want to stay in your place after a year, go ahead and pay off the mortgage? Make sure there aren't any early payoff penalties in your paperwork.
While the perception in many markets may be that only cash deals are possible, the shear volumes of traditionally financed purchases dwarfs all cash deals by many orders of magnitude. For every busted out condo there are dozens of unencumbered non-distressed sellers that have no reason to fawn over a low balling cash buyer if their property is in a condition to attract traditional finance worthy buyers.
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