Green Options

Good news for homeowners? Those with loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac could be eligible to refinance — even if they owe more than their home is worth.

Senators Schumer, Durbin, Representative Brad Miller (D-NC) and others are introducing bills to allow homeowners to have their mortgages reduced by a bankruptcy judge.

Fannie and Freddie were both conceived as Government Structured Enterprises – part private and part public. Without strict regulations against lobbing, such an arrangement assured that the private side would promote profits for the private side. One solution would be to replace Fannie and Freddie with a national mortgage bank.

If we dared to complain about the stratospheric price of houses, we were told, “Hey, it’s just the natural law of supply and demand!”  

Thank you getthebigpicture.net. Video source: MBelinkie on YouTube

This is the first of several posts describing “Strategies of Abundance” for ecopreneurs and green business owners.

Even in financially tough times, these Strategies of Abundance reflect interrelationships between personal finance and business, especially for small business owners. The key for ecopreneurs is how they use their business to make the world a better place. Profits from a green enterprise are the catalyst for ecopreneurs to achieve their Earth Mission, whether to restore ecological integrity or make photovoltaic systems affordable to all.

STRATEGY #1: Stop paying the banker.

The longer you hold a mortgage, the more you work for the bank and the more profitable you make them. For comparison, below is a chart from our book, ECOpreneuring, reflecting how interest can pile up on a $100,000 mortgage at 7 percent interest for terms of 15 and 30 years. While the monthly payment is less for the 30-year mortgage (the primary reason many of us choose it), we end up paying more than double for the use of the same pot of money.

By accelerating our mortgage payments on our 30-year fixed mortgage by paying down the principal when we could, we have the ability to earn less income to pay the bank than if we did otherwise over the long-term. Prepayment on principal is usually acceptable and completely legal. Every time you pay down the principal, the remaining interest and balance is recalculated, meaning that more of your regular monthly payments go to the principal and not interest payments.