My wife and I have nearly $600,000 in our investment portfolio. Should we buy a home outright or get a mortgage?

We deliberation we cognize wherever and however overmuch we privation to walk connected a location (around $400,000), but we don’t cognize how we should bargain that house. Is it amended to instrumentality retired a owe and person the gains from our investments wage disconnected the owe implicit time? Or should we conscionable acquisition the location outright? We’re obviously thrilled to adjacent beryllium successful a presumption wherever that’s adjacent a consideration, but we conscionable haven’t recovered immoderate coagulated proposal for which is better. 

Sincerely,

Returning to America

Dear Returning,

I indispensable commend you for being truthful proactive successful readying for specified a large fiscal step. Often I perceive from MarketWatch readers who look to beryllium rushing into homeownership. Maybe they’re attempting to support up with the Joneses, oregon possibly they’re disquieted astir location prices getting excessively costly for their wallet. Whatever the case, you and your woman are surely successful an enviable and comfy position, and the information that you’re not moving headlong successful buying a location suggests to maine that immoderate determination the 2 of you yet marque volition beryllium well-considered and due for your fiscal situation.

For those who tin bargain a location outright, it tin precise overmuch beryllium a pugnacious telephone — particularly successful today’s market. The debased proviso of homes for merchantability passim the state has created a concern wherever listings are attracting aggregate offers. As a result, galore prospective buyers are opting to marque all-cash bids to travel retired connected top.

Buying a location without a owe tin springiness you a limb up connected the competition. It allows for a overmuch much flexible and streamlined closing process, without the headaches progressive with relying connected a lender for the financing. Sometimes sellers are truthful smitten with the thought of specified an uncomplicated woody that they volition adjacent judge a bid astatine a little terms if the purchaser successful question is paying each successful cash.

Not to mention, avoiding a lender means avoiding fees and closing costs that tin rapidly rack up, positive the involvement progressive with a loan. So it’s casual to spot however buying outright could make savings. For galore people, there’s a intelligence payment to going mortgage-free arsenic well. You wouldn’t consciousness the value of a ample indebtedness connected your shoulders, and it tin beryllium easier to negociate your currency travel connected an ongoing ground without that burden.

But determination are drawbacks to buying a location outright, to beryllium sure. Top of the database is the imaginable accidental outgo involved: If you’re cashing retired astir two-thirds of your concern portfolio to acquisition a home, you’re missing retired connected the wealth those investments mightiness earn. The mean yearly instrumentality connected the S&P 500 is astir 10% historically — and those net compound implicit time. With involvement rates inactive beneath 3% these days, it’s casual to spot however the net from maintaining a larger portfolio tin much than marque up for the costs.

There’s besides the hazard that the location could beryllium a mediocre investment. Yes, location prices are expanding and person been for immoderate time. But what if the location gets flooded, oregon your peculiar marketplace sees a downturn? Then abruptly you’ll person sunk astir of your non-retirement savings into a azygous asset, alternatively than having a much diversified concern portfolio.

Even mounting imaginable net and portfolio diverseness aside, going this way would mean drastically reducing the magnitude of liquid funds astatine your disposal (unless you’ve got different resources you didn’t mention.) You’d person lone $180,000 near successful your concern portfolio — truthful however would you wage for furniture, renovations and ongoing attraction — not to notation immoderate different non-home-related luxury you mightiness privation to walk wealth on?

Dennis Nolte, a fiscal advisor with Seacoast Investment Services successful Winter Park, Fla., puts it succinctly: “You can’t devour your house.” What bully is being owe escaped erstwhile it means draining truthful overmuch of your resources?

In reality, I deliberation your concern is little achromatic and achromatic than you’re making it retired to be. One way galore fiscal advisers I polled suggested is buying the location outright, but past applying for a cash-out refinance. This would beryllium the champion of some worlds: You could marque an charismatic bid that would entreaty to buyers and payment from a streamlined closing to start. But past aboriginal connected you could currency retired a chunk of the home’s equity to reinvest oregon to usage for immoderate you want, beryllium it plush furnishings oregon a newly-renovated kitchen.

There are galore different options you could consider. Since you bash person the funds indispensable to bargain the location outright, you could waive the financing and appraisal contingencies from immoderate connection you make. This means that you’d screen immoderate gaps caused by issues with the owe lender you chose.

You could besides marque a larger down outgo than 20%, which would trim the size of the indebtedness and however overmuch you’d walk successful interest, without afloat draining your concern accounts.

In the meantime, you whitethorn privation to reconsider your concern strategy if you’re wholly relying connected those funds for a down outgo oregon more.  

“The worth that they person accrued successful their concern portfolio is highly astatine hazard close present if it is mostly successful equities,” said George Gagliardi, laminitis of Coromandel Wealth Management successful Lexington, Mass. His advice: Consider de-risking your portfolio and moving a chunk of the wealth toward safer investments specified arsenic short-term concern people bonds to guarantee that immoderate imaginable marketplace downturn doesn’t jeopardize your accidental astatine homeownership.