Home Ownership – It’s in Our American DNA
Each week, I’ve tried to take both simple and complex mortgage-related topics/issues and put them into terms here in this newsletter that make them more easily understood. Since I’ve been doing that for quite a while, I have to be honest and admit this: I’ve come up dry this week on what to talk about, so I thought I’d do a little internet research (I believe the technical term is Googling) into what mortgages are like in other parts of the world –and after a relatively brief Googling, I’ve found that we here in the United States, well, have it pretty good. True story!
Home Ownership in other countries
In a lot of other developed countries, mortgage interest isn’t tax deductible at all or there’s only a very limited tax benefit to be enjoyed from it –in Germany, they give tax incentives to encourage people to continue RENTING! In many of those same countries, a 30-year fixed mortgage is only a thing of myths. What? How do they afford a mortgage in other countries? Here’s a breakdown of what is most common in some of these countries:
Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand: no fixed-rate loans, only Adjustable Rate Mortgages and Hybrid ARMs with fixed rates for only 10 years.
Germany: fixed-rate loans up to only 15 years, ARMs and interest-only loans.
Japan: fixed-rate loans up to only 20 years, ARMs.
Switzerland: generally, it’s a first and second mortgage; the first has an indefinite repayment period while the second has a fixed repayment period up to 15 years (or until an individual’s retirement age) at a higher interest rate.
I learned two other interesting tidbits:
Prepayment Penalty: in the US, you can get a loan with NO prepayment penalty; in other countries, the banks/lenders have a guarantee that they get their interest even if you pay off your mortgage early.
Non-Recourse Loans: these are available in the US, which means you can lose the property if you default on payment, but the lender cannot seek further compensation from the borrower even if the property’s value doesn’t cover the full value of the defaulted amount; in other counties, they can come after you and your assets and metaphorically bleed you dry to get back the full value.
As difficult as it is to save for a down payment –whether it’s 5% or 20% –the sacrifice is worth it because home ownership isn’t just possible, it’s encouraged here in the United States. If this doesn’t convince you that it’s better to buy than rent, maybe it’s time to learn German and move.
For anymore information you may need at Priority Lending LLC we can help make things clearer for you.
