Monroe, WI

In the spirit of Independence Day, I present How to Declare Mortgage Independence.

No, I'm not suggesting anything shady here. This isn't like how to stop paying taxes. This is how to plan ahead so that down the road you can be one of the people who own their American Dream outright, no mortgage, nothing owed to the bank.

The key here is planning ahead. This is a crucial thing to do when buying any home.

Don't let yourself get house poor. Talk with the bank first and know your buying power. Then, decide if you want your house payment to be the maximum that it can be or if you want something lower. If you buy a house at a price that is under your maximum, you will be more able to cope with emergencies, save for luxuries or pay extra on your mortgage.

Go for the shortest term mortgage you can afford. A 30 year mortgage is pretty standard, but in the long term, it costs you thousands upon thousands more in interest than a 15 year mortgage. With a 30 year mortgage, many also feel like paying it off will be impossible. I mean really, 30 years to own my house? Most of us scoff and feel like that will never happen. However, a 15 year mortgage, now that is something different. Hey, just 15 years ago, I was graduating college. That is a time period that feels more doable to many people.

Pay extra on that mortgage when you are able. If you already have an adequate savings, direct a little extra towards your mortgage. If you paid attention to buying under your ability, you are more likely to be in this position as the years go by. Surprise money? Instead of spending all of it on a vacation or treating yourself, take at least a portion and put it towards your mortgage.

Plan to stay put. Houses are not like cars. You cannot trade them in every 3-5 years for something newer. Well, you can, but you'll end up losing money in most markets. The early part of this decade, when people were selling after 3-5 years and making large amounts of money on their homes, was an anomaly when you look at history. When you look at homes, plan for your long term needs. How many kids do you think you'll have in 5-7 years? Plan for enough bedrooms. Are you getting older with retirement on the horizon? Look for things than can accommodate reduce mobility just in case. Think long term, not just "Oh, we'll sell in a couple of years and get what we need then." If you can stay in a home for the better part of a decade or more, you will reap bigger benefits when you do sell.

Surprised to see a realtor giving some of this advice? I don't make my living at the expense of others. I am a partner in the home buying process for my buyers, not the cheesy steroetyped realtor who looks out for herself.

If you wait for enough years in order to have your home appreciate significantly and have a significant chunk of your mortgage paid off when you do sell, you can buy a more expensive home without having to increase your mortgage expenses. You and I can celebrate together when we sell your first house and I help you find the second one. We'll have an easier time selling your first house because you will have accumlated enough equity to have room to negotiate comfortably.

You can declare mortgage independence, but only by planning ahead.

I truly live in the land of Cows and Plows

From Scott Larson of Towne Square Realty in Monroe, Wisconsin

“Your Realtor of the Region”

E- Mail scott@greencountyhomeguide.com

On the web at http://www.greencountyhomeguide.com

I think you will be surprised how affordable the Dairyland is,

so come to my land of cows and plows and visit for a day, but stay for a lifetime

608-2124-9844 Direct

~ Have you made reservations for this month's Famous Fossil Wine Down and Cookout? Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 the day of. The July menu includes rib eyes on the grill, seasonal salad, Mrs Mike's chips, wine specials and Famous Fossil Sangria, all served on the patio at the winery overlooking the vineyards.

~ Enjoy live music at Tofflers in New Glaurus on Friday night. Enjoy the sounds of Mark Harrod on the patio. On Sunday, the Alex Wilson Band will perform at Caribbean Coffee and Cream in Brooklyn from 2 until 5 pm.

~ There is still time to sign the kids up for Fairy Tale Theatre through Monroe Theatre Guild, and scholarships are still available. Visit the MTG website for details.

~ Washington Church in Monticello celebrate their anniversary with an annual music fest on July 4. There will be 5 bands playing starting at 11 am and going until 4 pm.

~ From Friday through Sunday, "Eight Miles of Ag-tiques" will line highway 69 from Monroe to Orangeville. International Harvestor. John Deer. Minneapolis Moline. Oliver. Allis Chalmers. Massey Harris. If these names mean anything to you, come see your favorites. If these names mean nothing to you, find out why the are special. There will be displays at farms and businesses lining Highway 69 filled with vintage farming equipment and one farm will even feature a draft horse demonstration.

~ Monroe's big Fourth of July celebration takes place on Saturday at Twining Park. Events kick off at 11 am. Watch the soccer, volleyball and softball games or enjoy entertainment in the band shell. Food vendors will be in the park all day. Children's events are scheduled from 11 am until 3 pm. The big fireworks display starts about 9:30.

~ Brodhead's Fourth of July celebration on Saturday starts with a parade at noon and finishes with fireworks at dusk. This year's event will feature special events celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Fire Department.

~ You can also find fireworks celebrations in Brooklyn at Legion's park. There will be bands, games for the family and a grand fireworks finale.

~ Stephenson County will be having a big fireworks display for Independence day on Friday evening at dusk at the fairgrounds in Freeport.

~ Green County Entrepreneurs and Inventors Club meets on Monday evening at 6:30 in the New Glarus Room of the Monroe Hospital. This month's featured speaker is James Schneider of Blue Chip Training & Marketing. His topic will be "Building and Maintaining a Winning Business Attitude."

If you are starting to think of renewable energy sources for your home or business, start the easy way. Instead of jumping straight into solar panels or wind turbines, take a look at your electricity provider.

If you get your electricity from Alliant Energy, sign up for their Second Nature program.

When you enroll in Second Nature, you are doing your part to encourage the growth of renewable energy sectors. If you use X kilowatt hours a month, Alliant will purchase at least X kilowatt hours from renewable energy sources.

There is a surcharge on your electrical bill for the program. In our family, it amounts to about $15 per month. Alliant does offer the choice of particiapting at different levels too. You can commit to have 100% of your electricity come from green sources, or you can select the 50% or 25% level, whatever fits with your budget. This is not an all or nothing thing. Every little bit helps, so do what works for you.

Take the time to look into the personal renewable energy systems, but until you are able to get those installed, at least you can know that you are doing your part to lower your fossil fuel impact as well as create demand for renewable energy right now.

Up, down, down some more, up a little, down a little. Interest rates have been zigzagging in recent months.

One thing is for certain, these current levels are historically low.

Mortgage interest rates are based off of prime rate. Looking at the history of prime, going back to 1947, is amazing. Prime has flucuated from 1.75 to 21.5. Take a look at the figures in that chart. The levels we saw in recent months are incredibly and buck the historical averages. As of June 1, prime was 3.25. This is a level we saw in December 2008 for the first time in 54 years.

If you are waiting for the housing market to hit bottom and interest rates to drop before taking the plunge to getting your mortgage, it is a risk. Looking at history, we are in a golden period right now. The period after WWII had issues that kept prime low, and the Fed is taking action right now to keep prime low too.

How long will it last? You'd need a crystal ball to know for sure. Some people are waiting to buy houses until the prices drop a little lower, closer to hitting bottom. This is a gamble that could end up costing thousands due to the interest rates.

Say buyers are looking at a $135,000 home (median for Green County). They are unsure of when to buy.

• If they would have bought when the mortgage rates were 4.75%, they would pay $118,522 of interest over the course of a 30 year loan.
  
• If they purchase when the mortgage rates are 5.5%, they will pay $140,942 in interest.
  
• If they purchase when the mortgage rates are 6.25% (still considered a great rate just a decade ago), they will pay $164,237 in interest.
  

What happens if they wait to purchase, hoping prices drop? If that $135,000 drops to $130,000, but the interest rates don't drop back down to the 4.75% levels, what happens?

• They will pay $128,422 in interest if their mortgage is at a 5.25% rate.
  
• They pay $135,722 in interest if their mortgage rate is 5.5%.
  
• They pay $158,157 in interest with a 6.25% rate.

We do know from looking at history that these super-low rates will not last. We know that the government is working to keep rates low for a while, but how low and for how long, no one knows. The only thing I know for certain is that if a buyer is waiting for prices to drop "just a little more", but the interest rates bump up even .5%, they will cost themselves thousands of dollars in the long run.