Re: 125% mortgage to pay off debt.
Dan,
I am no finance guru, however have you considered this:
1) Why take a short term debt (credit cards) and turn them into a long term debt (mortgage)?
Your taking a balance that should usually get paid off within say 5-6 years or sooner, and transferring it into something that goes up to a 15-30 year term. So lets say you get it paid off within the 15 year term. That is 3 times longer than if paying within the short term cycle. So if you have an interest rate at 6%, then you are multiplying it by 3, the longer term. So 6 X 3= 18. So you go from 6% to 18% due to the longer period of time the same credit card amounts are financed.
2) Why take an unsecured debt/loan (credit cards) and turn it into a secured debt/loan (mortgage)? If you ever get to the point that you could not pay off the credit cards etc most of the time (depending on variables etc) it gets wiped out by bankruptcy. If you declared bankruptcy within the mortgage loan they take the house, and everything else included or secured within the loan.
I know its tough, and you certainly have to make the decision for yourself. However, for a little while, maybe you could find a part time job that pays well that you could use the money only or specifically for the credit card debts. After they are paid off go back to your usual way of life and work habits. Only make sure you DO NOT use any more credit cards along the way, or you kind of defeat the purpose of getting them paid off. Just think of being able to send in an extra $500-$1000 per month? $500 a month equals $6000 per year. At $6000 a year, but not factoring in interest rates, you could send in 34000 within 5 1/2 years.
All of this is only my opinion, but I do wish you all the best and hope you get the stress of it all off your back soon.
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