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Paying off mortgage?
I know this is a "money matters" topic, but I like the perspective of the DC Nesties.
We recently refinanced to a 15 year. It is set to be paid of right around when I want to retire at 50. We still have some additional cash each month that isn't earmarked for anything. It mostly goes into non-retirement investments. I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to try to be even more aggreessive in paying down the mortgage.
Here's why I'm considering-- right now we both have good paying jobs. When we move for the hub's job (hopefully in 1-2 years), I likely won't be able to find a job in my field (which to be honest, I don't want to be in anyway.) If that's the case, I want to do something that makes me happy but probably pays peanuts (if I have to work at all 
). I would love to never have to be on a "career track" again.
We'll keep our house here and rent it out for roughly the monthly loan payment.
Is it more advisable to try to pay the loan down, or sock money away that could be used to supplement the mortgage payments if need be?
Re: Paying off mortgage?
Take this with a grain of salt, because we rent.
If you're planning a move, I don't think throwing money towards your mortgage would be all that beneficial. I'd just save it and put it some sort of account so you'll have a cushion when you move.
We make the rockin' world go 'round.
ditto. If after you move and you find a job and you have renter's in your house and everything is great- then I would start paying down the mortgage more aggressively.
With rates being so low on 15 year mortgages, I think you probably have a pretty great deal now! (I just refinanced my condo in Bethesda to a 15 year and I am paying less than on my super low interest 30 year....)
We're keeping the house as rental and then for us whenever we're back here. The goal would be to not have that financial burden so I don't have to have a real job to help pay for it;-)
fwiw, we've got a 15yr mortgage now too & are aggressively paying it down.
when you move, do you think you'll rent or ultimately buy?
overall, i'd probably be inclined to pay off mortgage in your situation so that it's not a mega stressful situation if you can't find renters (this is assuming that you won't need $ as a downpayment on a new home in your new locale, obv.)
I would probably put the money into savings. While it's great to pay into the mortgage, that money would no longer be liquid if you needed it in a bind. Whereas if you put it into savings, at least you can access it. It sounds like you really want a lifestyle where you don't want to have to worry about making money in a few years. So, I would think it's better to have more cash available than to have it tied up in a rental property that you aren't even living in.
As someone who's been a landlord for almost 5 years, I would also recommend you have about $5K-$10K in a separate account to cover your property when you rent it out. I've had to put in about $10K into my property since I've been renting it for replacing various items that I did not expect to have to replace (hot water heater, HVAC, etc.). So, you want to make sure you have some savings to cover unexpected issues in your rental.