Now considering a heat pump

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
heat
Summer heat

Our central air conditioning unit is almost 21 years old. When we bought the house it did not have central air. It is running fine but for how much longer? I started doing some research on replacing it with a heat pump. It is always best to replace central heating or cooling before they become and emergency.

Heat pumps are more energy efficient and they can also help heat the house in the winter.

A heat pump can be used with a furnace in the winter. They are set to cut off at a certain temperature and at that point the heat pump goes off and the furnace comes on.
Heat pumps are more energy efficient and currently there are tax incentives and rebates for making a home more energy efficient. We don’t replace central heating or air conditioning often which is why it is important to choose wisely.
I called a few heating contractors that I have worked with before and they all had reasons why I should not buy a heat pump. I am still doing research to find a company that can install a heat pump. I found a resource: Air Source Heat Pump Collaborative ASHP
The Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) Collaborative was formed in 2019 by nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment and is a joint effort with Minnesota Utilities to promote heat pump adoption across Minnesota. The MN ASHP Collaborative strives to establish heat pumps as the preferred option for both customers and contractors when upgrading their heating and cooling systems, offering an efficient and eco-friendly alternative to traditional air conditioners.
So far contractors are giving me all sorts of arguments against installing a heat pump and none of those reasons make sense. I think that at this point most HVAC contractors do not install heat pumps. Stay tuned.

Mortgage interest rate – a historic perspective

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

There just isn’t anyway to sugar coat this. Mortgage interest rates are high. They will go down and when they do you may not be able to refinance and get a lower rate on your loan and if you do refinance the interest portion of your payment starts all over again. Borrowers pay the most interest on the first payment.

That means more interest and less equity. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am in favor of homeownership. I am not in favor of debt or paying interest. Less debt means more freedom and more choices. Rates will come down again.

In the U.S. Mortgage debt is increasing and so is credit care debt. We owe, we owe, it’s off to work we go . . . .

 

 

Mortgage interest rate 10 year graph
Freddie Mac Mortgage Interest Rate averages

The monster in the skyway

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. I walked the skyways to get home from a recent trip to the Union Depot. It was cold that day but mostly I chose the skyway as a way to avoid traffic from an event at the Xcel Center.

The photos are of the skyway between 4th and 5th street at Robert Street. There is often art in the skyways. I liked this but didn’t notice the eye until I got home and looked at the pictures. In fact there are two dragons. Now go find them and have a great weekend.

skyway
Skyway downtown St. Paul
skyway-dragon
Skyway dragon

Next time I walk that skyway I am going to stop and talk to the dragon.

 

The lock in effect

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
Lock & keys
Lock

Those low mortgage rates and the recent mortgage interest rate increases have caused people with low interest rate mortgages to stay put. Who wants to trade in their 2 to 4% rate for 7% or 8%?

Higher interest rates are also making housing more expensive which is contributing to inflation which is why interest rates are being raised.

Rates are likely to go down this year. This is an educated guess but once rates are around 6% people will be more interested in moving again which will increase demand and drive up home prices.

Higher home prices will contribute to measures of inflation which will prompt the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates.

Baby boomers own a lot of real estate, when will they sell.

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

The boomer housing sell off is going to be gradual but will drop 9.2 million homes in the next 10 years . . according to Freddie Mac.

  • Declining boomer ownership will free up 9.2 million homes by 2035, a Freddie Mac report found.
  • The 32 million homes owned by boomers will drop to 23 million by 2035, when the oldest members of the group are pushing 90.
  • Homeownership rates “gradually starting to decline as households age beyond age 75,” the report said.

“The offloading of homes will accelerate in the 2030s as boomers reach the ages of 70 to 80, Freddie Mac said, based on an analysis using American Consumer Survey data. The 32 million homes owned by the generation as of 2022 will drop to 23 million in 2035, when the oldest boomers will be close to 90 years old.” [Business Insider]

. . . but don’t start making plans or knitting little things because this model is based upon the trends of former generations and so far the baby boom generation has been unpredictable and doesn’t always follow their elders.

House
House