I was wondering if any of you would be so kind as to give me your opinions on my situation. We have about 40,000 equity in our home. We live in a small town and we are thinking of building out in the country but time is running very short. In the mean time I am trying to figure out what to do so we don't lose our equity in our present home. I keep thinking of a refinance now, whether we end up building or not, just to make sure I get at least some of this money out of the house while it is still a possibility. It is a drag as we were finally getting to the principal in our 15 year mortgage. Boy there are many disapointments with y2k. WHat have any of you thought of or done? Thank you ahead of time for any insights you may have.

-- a mom (what@mortgage.com), March 01, 1999

Answers

Dear Mon.... haven't written that since 1980, the year she died. I'm not a financially connected individual; just a retired science teacher who lived thru the last depression ( 30's ). Hunger and worn out clothes and long walks everywhere are still a memory. Think TITANIC ! If you know the ship is sinking (and it IS !! ), don't worry about a few dollars lost here; think about your life and those that you love. My wife is a DWGI, but then she is Swiss and saw the train loads of skeletons that came into Switzerland at the age of ten. She had to run to shelters when American bombers dropped their bombs on their side of the border with Germany (St. Galen). But she doesn't fault me for my efforts , and I'm sure your family won't either ... when it's " lights out" everywhere but you have the stove AND the food. But moving .. ?? Who will be your NEW neighbors ? DGIs who want to ' share ' with you and yours ? Will you need trustworthy neighbors if you don't plan to defend you food and family ? To move AND try to prepare NOW may be too much in the time left . If you already boght the land, and new neighbors will be as reliable as the ones you have (don't have ? ) AND you can get relitives to help, then that's another kettle of fish. Contractors are very busy now and I would guess you won't get one before fall , another side of the coin. Hope I've helped a little . It's a tough nut to crack, especially without more info. Eagle

-- Harold Walker (e999eagle@freewwweb.com), March 01, 1999.

If you do not get your equity out of your home now while you still can, you run a great risk of losing every penny of it. If you can't or don't want to sell the house, then refinance it immediately and hold onto the cash (and I do mean literally cash) until we see what conditions will be like in 2000.

-- cody varian (cody@y2ksurvive.com), March 01, 1999.

Mom, We all know that millions will die during Y2K from hunger, thirst, cold, disease and killings by humgry marauding gangs. After it is all over, there will be millions of empty houses all over the country dragging down the prices to rockbottom! If you are concerned about your equity, get it NOW before it is lost during Y2K! The best thing to do is have a home with no equity, so that when the real estate market crashes, you can walk away from your home and use the $40,000 equity you took out of your home now, and pay cash for your next home. Be sure to put your new home in a trust, so that the bank can not get you for walking out of your previous home. Good Luck during Y2K!!!

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@aol.com), March 02, 1999.