the Major Mortgage Pushers were ready to launch a big push to market Seconds and Third mortgages. Shades of 2005.

One of our largest Credit Unions rolled out a Promo pushing these mortgages just before Xmas. Ouch!!!

Bad for the banks, maybe its a good thing long term to slow down borrowing.

think it happened by accident,don't think the Banker and Real Estate Lobbyist wanted this result. These Seconds and Thirds were one of the main reasons the Housing Bubble blew the last time around. Got's ta get me them new toys. Yupper,pay cash,the piggy bank ain't going away any time soon. We all saw what happened.

to $10,000 starting in 2018 tax year. This change will mainly affect middle class in high tax states such as CA, NY, CT etc.

If you are paying in excess of $10,000 in mortgage interest in WA state, you have to be a rich person. Because WA state has no state income tax.

conventional wisdom says you need income of 1/4 to 1/3 the price of house, meaning yearly income of at least $180k. That is not middle class in my book. You are right, housing in Seattle is red hot, and in a bubble. Here in Florida you can buy a brand new 4 bed room house for under $300k except in areas like Miami & Tampa. I sold my condo 35 miles north of Seattle for 50% profit last year after owning it for 4.5 years.

What percentage of Seattle people make $180-$200k? My guess is not many. Which means house prices have outpaced incomes. That is exactly what happened before last housing crash of 2010-2011.

And they might need a home equity loan just to put on a new roof, but at least they could deduct the costs of the interest. Now they won't be able to.

much more than $15-30k depending on size of a middle class home. Interest at 6% on that loan would be $1500/year, which is way below the $10,000 deduction allowed in 2018.

But I'd like to know where you are getting your information about the $10K limit. This is what the article stated:

There will be a $10,000 cap on mortgage interest plus state and local tax deductions. But the Home equity line of credits will no longer be deductible.

So that $1,500 interest each year does reproesent a tax increase (not $1500 increase but an increase based on the person’s tax rate.)

I have not read the details of the tax bill,
so I was thinking the $10k limit applied to all
deductions including SALT, mortgage, and any
other loans. Excluding home equity credit is
social engineering pushed by lobbyists. I do not
like it. Thanks for clearing that up.

The remodeling industry must be furious.

I need a new roof next year and was always going to be paying for it in cash (we’ve been saving for years and it’s time to schedule that project). Not sure if we will pay less next summer compared to previous years. If we could wait for another year it may be a cheaper project, but... the roof needs replacing.

Of course some roofing companies now provide financing which seems strange to me.

And good luck with that roof project.

In the past, I was able to repair (not replace) roofs by applying generous amounts of sealant on a flat roof of a condo building with 10 units on each floor. The condo management brought in 3 roofers for bids, and of course they all wanted to install a new roof. We took a vote of unit owners and they gave me go ahead to try sealing first, and it worked. So we spent $500 instead of $100,000.

Never had a leak with a sloping roof on individual homes we have owned, but imagine a sealant would be even more effective. Of course I no longer climb roofs being in my 70's haha..