Gasp! Sorry...I am a little credit card phobic... What are you buying for $15k? If you are buying the family estate worth $350K then it might pay to charge away. If someone is selling a bargain and might sell it in an hour then move fast. If not, you face lots of immediate interest (read the fine print and call for costs if you are thinking of writing a convenience check enclosed with your credit card). Cash advance? Higher interest for the life of the loan and then you would face the cost to get a home equity loan and they will notice you owe that $15,000. Better to have the property on it's own loan, preferably with a fixed interest. Good luck...

I have watched the TSP quarterly. I'm not totally sure of the % of the total goes to which fund, but I believe we are fairly diversified and have some funds in 4 or 5 of the different funds (not sure that's the right word). Our pay goes into each according to the % that we alloted the last time we did it. =0) You're doing yourself a disservice to your future retirement if you don't know in what funds your money is allocated, how the bi-weekly pay is allocated and especially how much growth you've had. I only say this because you have recently put your retirement planning to the forefront of your brain and that should include monitoring and learning about the TSP since it will be the vast majority of your husband's retirement. BTW is he under CRS or FERS? Since I started watching the TSP several months ago, I learned that this is not the best time to be in the "F" fund because the USD is constantly down. The domestic US economy is 39th in the world with many of the countries in the "I" fund way higher and close to the top. I originally had everything 20% into each fund, but have since moved things over to the more profitable funds since I"ve learned alot about how the TSP works. 1. Is there a max on the TSP? Hubby says it "used to be 10%", but he thinks that changed. Max amount for 2007 is $15,500 or 20,500 if you're over 50. The max contribution does not include the matching, so that is over and above the limit. We allocate a specific number, not a percentage. We put $425 per pay period into the TSP and that is nowhere near the max, but is over 20% of dh's pay. The more you put in, the more matching you get. If your husband has received any pay increases, then it might be a wise option to increase the TSP contributions. That's what we do whenever dh gets a raise. It allows for a greater tax benefit and more matching dollars. No, I don't mind differing opinions, it helps my brain entertain new ideas and learn something. =0) I know that I am focused on the rental properties and mortgages on them, because at the moment, those are closer to paying off, than the IRA or TSP. I believe in diversification, so the rental properties are currently part of my "retirement plan". They are a part that will begin to pay off long before we retire, and continue once we do retire (or at least that's the plan). I am learning the IRA and TSP world and language (and remember we're looking at 27 years before taking anything out of them, and we are already putting funds into both), but I already understand the houses. =0) It's good that you're looking to diversification and that you're open to look at all avenues. I think what you're missing is the tax benefit to the TSP, especially if you can afford higher deductions because it reduces your taxes that could be offset by the additional tax you pay with your rental properties and paying them off early. Having said that, I prefer to have a home paid for, which goes against many other people's belief here that the funds should go to investment vehicles. I try to diversify that as well by having money in a high yield account plus pay a bit more to principal. Sorry, I thought you were closer to retirement than 27 years to take out of the TSP. That gives you a long time to make the most of your investment opportunity there and is even more reason to learn everything you can about it. If your funds are diversified btwn the 4 or 5, that means you're losing a strong growth opportunity because you would have some money allocated to the G and/or F fund, which aren't producing very well these days. I was extremely overwhelmed when I first started paying attention to the TSP. It's definitely a long learning curve, but I am learning. It is imperitive that you know in what funds you are invested, how much is going into each fund and how they are doing - an not just quarterly. At minimum, you would be best served by checking weekly.

I think there's a good chance the IRS would consider the son the equitable or beneficial owner of the house since he pays for the mortgage and repairs. That means no capital gains tax will be due upon the sale of the house (provided the other requirements for the exclusion are met). The Tax Court has ruled that an equitable or beneficial owner of a primary residence is entitled to claim the mortgage interest deduction for federal tax purposes (Uslo v. Commissioner, [Tax Court Memo 1997-551 (December 16, 1997)]). The fact pattern in Uslo is strikingly similar to the OP's situation. One set of family members were the owners of record of the house and also the only names on the mortgage papers. The other set of family members lived in the house, paid all the mortgage payments and also were responsible for maintenance and repairs. They claimed a deduction for the mortgage interest on their federal taxes, and this was initially disallowed by the IRS. However, they eventually prevailed in the Tax Court. It's reasonable to assume that the same standard used in Uslo would be true as well for the exclusion from capital gains tax. In Uslo, the parties has executed a quitclaim deed which was intended to be backdated to the original purchase of the property. Even though it was never recorded, the Tax Court found it additional evidence of the parties' intentions that the couple who paid the taxes, etc were the equitable owners of the property. That being so, it would probably be a good idea for the OP to follow happy camper's suggestion and quitclaim the property to their son, but not record the document, in case the question of beneficial ownership should ever arise in the future. Here is a link that might be useful: MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTIBLE BY BENEFICIAL OWNER OF PROPERTY

Hi NCREGuy, All of the mortgage brokers tht I deal with here all seem to be transferring back to working directly for the lenders themselves, due to new regulations coming up. With ALL due respect to so many brokers in my industry (which frankly, is really very little respect,) the *majority* 'grew up' in a business model of hustling & bootlegging their revenues... that is, trying to hide them so they could grab business from consumers who truly believed a "no points" loan meant nobody was making any money from them. They deserve to wither & fall away (both the hustglers & the consumers that fed them.) I have nothing but contempt for the hustlers, and I avoid such consumers who refuse to wake up to reality. The new regulations are DESIGNED to creat a "full disclosure" environment (which is what I've always chosen, so no shift for me.) This scares the bejezuss out of the bootlegger hustlers, as they can't imagine how they'll ever compete on quality of service (which frankly, they probably never could... because they only knew how to bottom-fish the least sophisticated consumers in the first place. They hustled "rate & fee" ignoring the longterm elephant-in-the-room financial effects of selection & structuring... and they can't fathom looking anyone in the eye and showing that person how they actually earn a fee.) Word on the street is that brokers will no longer be a viable profession. The demand and position in the markets of client-oriented Non-Captive Independent Producers will never go away... but it may change names, regulatory environments and structures. The wholesaler/financial-providers will always provide a demand for these independent producers, as they generate ongoing business with much less overhead and risk exposure than W2 employees. The general public (especially those with more financial savvy) will always prefer indepedent professionals that they can trust to hold their own interests as priority over "the company." The people wailing (and/or celebrating) about the death of "mortgage brokers" are referring to the old-world revenue bootleg hustlers. ================================ Hi cmarlin, Like it or not direct lending seems to be the future, or really already here for all practical purposes. From a consumer perspective, it makes for more work when shopping. The bigger problem, in my opinion (as stated above,) is the conflict of interest a consumer faces when dealing with captive loan officers. You can get no unbiased financial treatment, and the bank/lender has no incentive to encourage their capitive producers to give advice contrary to 'the company's' best ineterests (even though that may be very contrary to the consumer's interests.) That's fine for people who are unaware (or in denial) of the differences in structuring... its close to criminal for those who lose money or are put at greater risk because of it, in my opinion. This "market gap" will not go unfilled. Dave, I wonder how do you keep your markets, do mortgage and insurance companies require high volume to keep a market? Seems that splitting lines dilute each market. Not sure what you are referring to as "market." Some wholesale lenders adopt volume minimums, sometimes... same for insurance carriers... but most understand that deal-flow is variable (even for the top independent producers) because lenders & carriers regularly change their offering terms (making them more or less relatively competitive,) and regional markets fluctuate as well. Overall, they want incoming business more than they want to try to streamline the variability of production. How do you produce enough insurance to keep your market? Is your license in L&H? My business primarily comes from referrals from my existing book of clients, and I also regularly do public seminars. My insurance licensing is as an independent L&H Producer/Broker. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner