Looking back on interest rates!!!

[JD Seller]

My youngest son bought his house from me a few years ago. Due to him just not having much credit history mortgage rates where going to be higher than I thought they should be. Around 6-7% while prime was under 1.5%. So we just changed his "rent' to mortgage payment. About a year ago he came to me to talk about some remodeling and adding on to the house. What he wanted and we did was he just paid me the interest an used the principle to finance the improvements he did. He did me proud in that in less than a year he added two rooms, resided the entire house and replaced the roof.

So now the GREAT part. He actually got done in mid January. So in February he went mortgage shopping. He closed today. He got a 3% fixed 15 year note. His payment is actually $25 less than he was paying me in rent three years ago.

That got me to thinking about my first house. We bought it in 1978. 15 year note at 9.25%. We thought that was reasonable. LOL The biggest difference is the principle amount. Housing costs have 5 times in that time. For our first house we only financed $20,000 and had a 30% down payment to even get a mortgage. It is funny how times have changed. Interest rates are lower but the cost of just an average home has skyrocketed.

Can you fellow remember your "first" homes interest rate??? How about down payments??? I remember when 25-30% was the norm. That was for a house or land. Farm equipment was around 30-40% required with trade and cash. I can remember some companies wanted half their money back before the first use season. So even with a good sized down payment your first payment would be before the use season.

 

[Pair-a-dice farm]

My 1st home was on a farm that I bought in 1980. It was an SBA loan at 5% and a young farmer program. That didn't work out well and we sold it in 1984. In 1985 we rented a house and 10 acres with an option to buy. $100 of the rent went toward the down payment. In 1987 we purchased the place on an 8% owner financed note. In 1995 we wanted to remodel and so we paid off the guy we bought it from and got a equity loan for 5%. We paid that off in 2001.

 

[jim castleman]

First home we bought in 1963, paid $7600 with $3000 down, don't remember interest rate. In 1974 we paid 17.5% interest on operating loan, put us out of livestock business. Had auction and sold all equipment.

 

[jim castleman]

My mistake, it was 1983 we sold livestock and equipment, but stayed with cash crops.

 

[coshoo]

Our first place was 55 acres with house, barn and machine shed. $34,250 price, with $8,500 down, balance at 7% for 30 years on a real estate contract. I learned about wet ground on that place, and by 1976, we had found a better piece of ground about a mile up the road, which we bought, also on contract, 70 acres, $50,000 with $14,500 down, balance at 7%. Sold the original place in 1978 for $60,000, and used the money to build a house on the new place.

 

[Delawaresurfman]

The wife and I bought in late 1987 if I remember correctly. The rate was an astounding 9.05%. I remember my mom and I watching the line every day. When it dropped to 9.05% we decided to lock in. We were pre approved and had $70,000 down on a $107,000 dollar home. 15 year note. Never did refi. Boss told me I should have but the payment was pretty cheap.
I feel for my two sons as mentioned above house prices have skyrocketed. Luckily both have great jobs but it just costs so much to live. Cars, gas, well not now, and food. The wife and I had and have it made. I feel for many younger people trying to start out.

 

[JimB2]

First home in 1975 was $38,000 @ 13.75% for 5 years with $25,000 down. We were lucky, some people with high risk were paying 19% in 1975.
JimB

 

[charlie n]

Bought my first house in 1982 for 27,000. 3 year no-renewable Contract for Dead at 14%.Put around 4000 down and paid 230.00 a month. Work was good and paid it off before the end of the contract. 800 sq.ft. 1 bath and raised 2 kids in it. Lived in it 20 years and sold it for 3 fold the money. Built one in 2002. 3.25% 2800 sq.ft. and now the kids are gone. Pretty big for the two of us but I aint movin again.

The first time I got a loan was in 1978. Bought a new Chevy Big Ten 4x4. 36 months at 133.00 a month. Don't remember the rate. I do remember I made 9.00 an hour when I worked and worried about missing a payment.My how times change.

 

[RODGEinIL]

First house was in 2003, 72,000, had 32,000 down, 5.5%. Sold it for 85,000 two years later, moved to the country.

 

[MSD]

Bought a house to fix up back in the 70's. I paid 16% interest on the loan for it. Getting rid of it is another story. If you had money to put in the bank you could get 16% on CD's back then too.

 

[Donald Lehman]

My first home was a used single wide that I paid cash for. Towed it home with a tractor. When that house was destroyed by fire, I used the insurance money to pay cash for another single wide and I put a cellar under it. Wasn't fancy and certainly not on the level of homes most of my contemporaries lived in, but I never owed a nickel on the roof over my head. There were times in my life where it was a darn good thing I didn't, too. (smile)

 

[Patrick Klise]

We bought our first home in 1965. I remember the price was $17,500....I don't remember the interest rate but think it was in the7 to 8% range. Payments were $128 a month and I remember thinking...how in the world are we going to be able to pay that every month! Our next home (and current home) we bought in 1977 for $60,000 and it is a semi-rural area west of Minneapolis. It came with 5 acres and a barn, where my daughter kept her horse. You can guess it's worth a whole lot more now.

 

[Dean]

I believe that we will be seeing very low (perhaps lower than today) interest rates for years to come.

Regardless of what the government and the mainstream media tell us, the economy is lousy.

Stay tuned.

Dean

 

[OliverKid26]

You have to remember a few things though. (I work as an Investment Analyst by day, farmer by night).

The key is the relationship between interest rates, inflation, and market returns. Right now interest rates are lower than pretty much ever historically speaking, but we also have almost no inflation (besides health care costs) and the market is yielding almost no returns. Back when you took your first loan out, you could also put money in a CD and earn more than most stock portfolios now.

Appreciate your post, just trying to add another perspective.

 

[J.Wondergem]

We rented a house the first two years we were married. We bought this place, in 65, for two hundred a acre, and I don't remember the down payment to have this house built, but mortgaged it for twenty years and payed it off in fifteen. Still here.

 

[Kent Petersen]

Wife and i bought a house in the spring 1969 that we had lived in sense we were married in 64 gave $12000 for it an it had an apartment up stairs put $1000 down. Don,t remember the interest rate the renters made the payment and we doubled it In 1975 September we bought a small farm 26 acres actual part of a qt section Sold the house in town for $24000. got started farming in a very small way did ok i 86 i bought the other 65 acres in that qt. $500 PER ACRE in 92 we get a qt 1 1/2 miles from Home paid $ 590 per sold a bin of beans in 2008 for $12.00 per paid off the last of the land We retired in 2008 i was farming 5 and 1/2 qts at that time glad we did as the wife got cancer in 2009 and i lost her May 4th of 2012 at least we did get to travel some.

 

[Eldon (WA)]

(quoted from post at 17:27:21 03/09/16) My youngest son bought his house from me a few years ago. Due to him just not having much credit history mortgage rates where going to be higher than I thought they should be. Around 6-7% while prime was under 1.5%. So we just changed his "rent' to mortgage payment. About a year ago he came to me to talk about some remodeling and adding on to the house. What he wanted and we did was he just paid me the interest an used the principle to finance the improvements he did. He did me proud in that in less than a year he added two rooms, resided the entire house and replaced the roof.

So now the GREAT part. He actually got done in mid January. So in February he went mortgage shopping. He closed today. He got a 3% fixed 15 year note. His payment is actually $25 less than he was paying me in rent three years ago.

That got me to thinking about my first house. We bought it in 1978. 15 year note at 9.25%. We thought that was reasonable. LOL The biggest difference is the principle amount. Housing costs have 5 times in that time. For our first house we only financed $20,000 and had a 30% down payment to even get a mortgage. It is funny how times have changed. Interest rates are lower but the cost of just an average home has skyrocketed.

Can you fellow remember your "first" homes interest rate??? How about down payments??? I remember when 25-30% was the norm. That was for a house or land. Farm equipment was around 30-40% required with trade and cash. I can remember some companies wanted half their money back before the first use season. So even with a good sized down payment your first payment would be before the use season.

First house fresh out of college in 1980 in SD, was able to assume a 7% VA loan on the house I bought. $400 a month mortgage, interest and taxes. That was a great rate at the time. 1987 bought a hobby farm with old farm house in MI at 11% interest and $1100 a month payment! Since then we have bought and sold numerous properties from 9 to 7% and lower payments. This last place I bought the land with funds from a home equity line of credit, paid that off in a year and then sold properties while I built this house with no note.....that is the best interest rate! Bad news is the taxes amount to close to $500 a month.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Brought my first house in 1982 the interest rate was 16%, the house all in said and done (I owned the land) $27K. I played the refinance game several times...

That's what killed this country you can buy more than you can afford with little down...

 

[4520BW]

Bought my first house in 1997. House and 26 acres was $115000 at 5% loan through the USDA young farmer loans. It was a 1000 sq ft house built in 1970. It border my parents farm even. After getting married we decided a bigger house was needed so sold off house and one acre for $92000 and built a new house on back of property. In 2013 I bought back the old house for $40000.

 

[K Effective]

Wife and I bought our first place in 1992 with 17 acres for $42K. We had been fortunate, since the place had been foreclosed on, and we were able to borrow the $42K from her Dad and my Grandpa, we were able to buy with cash before the Sheriff's sale when no one else could even get it appraised, then refinance to pay them off (with interest). We borrowed $60K at 6% to buy the house and do some renovations. I was thrilled to get 6%, as my folks had a 6% mortgage when they built their house in 1967.

When we sold in 2002, we had accumulated over $100K in equity between accelerated payments and further renovations. The next owners had the place for about two years before losing it to the bank and getting divorced.

I remember my Grandpa financing a mobile home for my cousin and her husband to live in while he finished graduate school. The bank wanted over 20% on the new double-wide, Grandpa probably let then off for 10% :wink:

 

[Old weldor]

First house 1973, seven percent GI loan. Paid $14,500, house payment was $85.00 a month that included taxes and insurance. Those were the good times.

 

[Goose]

My wife and I bought our first house when we were married in 1965. Can't remember the interest rate, but we paid $9800 for the house with $3,000 down and our payments were $77 per month. The payment included taxes and insurance.

BTW, we closed on it a week before our wedding, so all the paperwork was in both my name and my wife's maiden name. Commonplace nowadays, but that raised a few eyebrows back then.

 

[LME]

We bought our first house in 1962, $6000, $1000 down. Don't recall the rate, 20 yr note. Sold it 8 yrs later for $12,000. Built a new house on the farm for $15,000.

 

[jim buford]

low interest rates are financing everything at an unrealistic level. They should be higher because right now there is a bubble building that will burst again.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Sure can, 10% in 1980
While still single I started shopping for my own home in the fall of 1979 and quickly found out I couldnt afford much of a home due to interest rates round 15%? cant remember for sure. I know at that time I had my life savings in a passbook account at a savings and loan that was paying me 10%!!
Found a place I could afford only because it had an assumable GI bill loan at the bargain basement rate of 10%, and they only required 20% down, LOL I had the required down payment and a good job and easily qualified for the loan. Met my soon to wife with in one week of moving in and we paid the place off three times over the years but put mortgages back on it several times to help finance the purchase of our farm ground and starter homes for the kids. What was supposed to be a temporary place to live turned into 36 years but we are now in process of moving further out into the country and have it for sale. Banks are standing pretty hard on 20% down and that really cuts down on the number of people that can qualify for a loan, if not for that our house would have sold with in 24 hours of being listed last fall.

 

[Mike M]

I don't know an average home around here in Ohio is worth less than it was 8 years ago ?

 

[Al Baker(pumpman)]

First loan I took out for a used tractor was in spring of 1983. Interest rate was 16.5% . I was young and had just started a job after College. No credit score, so they hosed me. Today I will barrow only if I am backed into a corner with a gun to my head. If I cant pay cash, then I will wait. I have paid MORE than my fair share of interest and fees to those banks.

 

[Dave Sherburne, NY]

My first home was built on land my parents gave me back in 1969. I went to the FHA to borrow $15000. I was working the night shift and the fella I was working with did some figuring and told me I would be paying back $45000. When I got back home that morning I called FHA and told them to forget it. MY father was a carpenter, My uncle was a plumber and I had worked with an electrician. I had some money saved up and we started construction. Had to pay to dig for the foundation then we started building. My wife and I continued renting half a house $60 a month for about a year and a half til we could move in. No building codes back then. No Siding on the house. I bought an old wooden silo at an auction and used it to build a 2 car garage then sided both the house and the garage. A few years ago when I was adding on to the garage where I live now,it had to be inspected. At the same time the house I built was being doubled in size. The Code enforcement officer asked it I had built the house on the hill, when I said yes, he replied that it was one of the best built house he had seen.

 

[Farmall43]

I have never had to pay interest. I have never had a mortgage. I did not buy my first house until I was 32 yrs old. Unless you count the trailer home and I bought that at 27. I saved everything I could and bought the first house for 35,000 as a foreclosure. Cash sale and put another 25k into it to make it nice. I sold it at a 32k profit after 5 yrs. I bought my current house for 32k also a foreclosure. I put another 40k into it to make it nice. I had it appraised last year and it came in at 161k. I think it is time to start looking for the next foreclosure. I do not like loans. I do not have a credit card and I am frugal as they come. I do not believe in credit. I am now 41 yrs old and have no debt. My house is 2500 sqft on 2.5 acres with a pole barn. If I take what I have in the bank and sell this house I could have almost a quarter mil to buy the next one. If more people would live with-in their means and save money instead of buying dumb stuff we would be far better off than we are now.

 

[Steamboat]

I built my house in 1984. $45K mortgage for 20 years. Interest rates then were 13.5% under Reagan administration.

 

[James Williams]

I bought my house for 22,500 with a floating intrest,I don't remember The intrest but it was high,I was scared of the adjustable intrest,but it never went up,it always came down

jimmy