Second-Ric hest Man Says Mortgages Now a “No Brainer”
Warren Buffett is the second-richest man in America today, behind Bill Gates. (He was the richest man in the world in 2008.)
He made his fortune through the financial markets. Buffett, to me, is the greatest financial mind of our time – if not ever.
Right now, Mr. Buffett says to get a fixed mortgage… Specifically, he calls it a “no brainer” today…
Mortgage rates have been falling again lately, and they’re not far from all-time record lows:
“You would think that people would be lining up now to get mortgages to buy a home,” he said at a Fortune magazine conference this week.
Buffett has been surprised about the speed of housing’s recovery. He said it “has been slower than I anticipated.” But he is not worried.
Buffett expects housing will recover, as it always does after recessions. He joked that inevitably “Hormones kick in, and in-laws get tiresome.”
Buffett likes 30-year fixed mortgages best, calling them “incredibly attractive.” Here’s why…
He says that if interest rates go up after you get your mortgage, you win – because you’re locked in for 30 years at a great rate. And if interest rates go down, you win as well – because you can easily refinance at a lower rate.
If you have a long-term view that the dollar is going to weaken eventually, and that interest rates will rise eventually, then, according to Buffett, you really want to get that 30-year fixed-rate mortgage…
The greatest financial mind of our time says a 30-year mortgage today is a no brainer…
Are you going to listen to him?
Mortgage rates are near-record lows relative to history. And house prices are still affordable.
I suggest you take the advice of America’s second-richest man… and (if it makes sense for you at all) consider getting yourself a fixed mortgage of some sort, right now…
Tags: interest rates, mortgage