I just wrapped up a couple of seminars on home equity management with my good friend Peter "Coach Pete" D'Arruda. There are a number of financial planners and mortgage lenders promoting techniques for either paying off your mortgage early or keeping your mortgage balance high and using your money to invest. I'll write more about each of these topics over the next few days. If you receive a letter inviting you to a seminar about equity harvesting, Australian mortgages, or asking you to participate in a bi-weekly payment plan, be sure to look before you leap!
Equity harvesting and Australian mortgages are opposite ends of the spectrum as one advises you to invest as much of your home's equity as possible and the other helps you pay off your mortgage in a short amount of time. Both can work for the right person in the right situation, but beware of hard-sell tactics! In many cases, these products are sold simply to generate ...