Buying a House? Cash vs. Mortgage Payments

Be Equity Smart Buying a House? Cash vs. Mortgage Payments

BY WAYNE JORDAN

There are two main ways to finance a house: take a mortgage or pay cash upfront. Both approaches have their pros and cons, but only one is right for you. Learn why to pay cash for a house vs. get mortgage preapproval to make the right choice for your needs in the long term.

Why Pay Cash for a House? By paying cash for a house, you get all of the advantages of home ownership without going into debt. This is the chief advantage of paying cash: you own your home outright and can start to save what you would have spent on monthly mortgage payments. Over the 15- or 30-year lifetime of a mortgage, you will save tens of thousands of dollars in interest payments alone. There's also a mindset benefit to paying cash: When you aren't indebted to the bank, you are secure in the fact that no one can take your house from you. You can take pride in knowing you are able to leave your property to your heirs as a legacy. Individuals who are selling a large home and buying something smaller will be able to reinvest a portion of their payment in another property, then save the rest. Thrifty individuals who've managed to save all the money for a home can likewise avoid taking out a mortgage. In a tight real estate market where there are bidding wars over properties, paying cash for a home can offer you an advantage over buyers who must get mortgage pre-approval. Since you can move forward quickly, a motivated seller may select your offer over others. If you're in the business of flipping houses, paying cash can make sense. You will be able to purchase and renovate properties quickly, sell a home, then take the proceeds and buy your next fixerupper.

Why Take a Mortgage? For many people, mortgage financing is their only path to home ownership. By paying a small amount upfront and getting a mortgage for the rest of the asking price, individuals can become home owners and start building equity. Yet even if you have enough money saved up to pay cash for a house, it may not be the smartest use of your money. When interest rates are low, it may be best to put your money in the market--so you can make more of it--and take out a mortgage. It's financially risky to tie up a large portion of your liquid assets (i.e. cash) in something like a house. If you would need to borrow to cover something like a medical emergency because you don't have a sizable emergency fund, it's wise to take a mortgage and save your money for the unexpected. Mortgages also come with tax breaks, such as the option to deduct real estate taxes. If you've paid cash for your house, you're not able to realize these tax breaks. Mortgages have one more benefit, assuming your property increases in value. When it's time to sell your home, the return on investment is larger when you've financed your home than when you've paid in cash. No matter how you finance it, home ownership is the ultimate dream for many people — and there's no "one size fits all" approach to it. Knowing why to pay cash for a home vs. take out a mortgage, you can determine what makes sense for you—and then start saving for your down payment or your all-cash purchase.

We are happy to help and share our insight and experience to help you with the real estate investing process. Schedule an appointment today. Call 888-670-6791.p Wayne Jordan is a real estate agent at Equity Smart Realty Inc.

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NYC Rideshare Club / continued from page 1 Hence, several workers have suffered untold and uncompensated mishaps from reckless drivers, e-bike thefts, and hardship that sometimes leads to mental health issues and suicide. Yet, no respite seems to be on the horizon from the government or their employers. So, workers are taking matters into their hands and fighting for themselves. In the words of Shirley Chisolm, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." The ideology behind this famous phrase made Ms. Naomi Ogutu, President of NYC Rideshare Club, establish and drive an organization to protect rideshare workers. Speaking to Workers' World Today, she discussed the organization and its mission of fighting for rideshare and delivery essential workers on issues that affect their lives while working.

The Organization: NYC Rideshare Club Made up of over 4500 rideshare drivers and now including delivery workers in New York City, her organization, NYC Rideshare Club, was established in 2017 and forms one of the nine members of the Coalition. "Justice for App Workers is a coalition of nine organizations and more than 100,000 members strong. The groups that form the Coalition are the NYC Rideshare Club, United Delivery Workers Association, International Alliance of Delivery Workers, The Independent Drivers Guild, Long Island Uber and Lyft Network, and Black Cab Mafia. We also have Utany and NYC Drivers Unite."

The Coalition's Mission One of the critical missions of the body is holding the million-dollar app giants accountable for workers' welfare on issues of a decent living wage. "So, we demanded that we have a fair wage for our drivers and delivery workers because the app companies take a lot of commission from us. You'll be surprised that the driver gets only 60% of the money you pay. They don't have a uniform commission system. We have created a petition and sent 10,000 letters to Uber and Lyft asking them to take just 10% of the commission and let the driver take home 90% of the commission," she explained. Other demands include the right to unionize, ending unfair deactivation, and access to

Naomi OgutuPresident, NYC Rideshare Clun being interviewed by Workers’ World Today

reliable bathrooms. "The other demand is we want to have a right to form a union." Recalling some member stories and experiences, she revealed unfair circumstances that lead to the loss of a workers' livelihood often faced by the members." We have drivers and delivery workers who get deactivated for factors beyond their control. For instance, a delivery worker goes to deliver food, and the food is cold. All you did was receive the food from the restaurant, ride your bike or drive, go to the destination, and hand over the food. The customer finds the food is cold, and they put a complaint against you." She explained that the accumulation of these negative ratings results in deactivating the member's account and jeopardizing a source of livelihood. "Same applies to drivers. Maybe streets are closed for the Brooklyn Marathon, and passengers want to get to their destination quickly. Sometimes the driver uses a different route to get you to your destination. A customer can complain and say that the driver took the wrong way or took a long time, and once they report you and you get that kind of report three times, you are deactivated."

Demanding access to health and mental health care "The other issue is access to health and mental health care. We want drivers to have access to counseling and health care and different facilities that the City of New York can offer to support our drivers. A few years ago, we had drivers committing suicide because they are stressed out." Furthermore, "Some of them have to deal with issues that are beyond our control, like COVID-19. When COVID

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NYC Rideshare Club / continued from page 12 came, it left most of us in a position that we are still trying to recover from, severely affecting our drivers."

Seeking access to clean, decent, and accessible bathrooms in the City of New York Ogutu explains that attending to nature's call while on the job costs them money because of an unfavorable work environment. "After COVID, you can't even get a clean bathroom, and you can't get a restaurant or even a hotel to let you use their bathrooms. Our drivers must turn off the app and go out of Manhattan to look for a bathroom. They spend the time they are supposed to be making money looking for bathrooms." She explained that women drivers are affected by the lack of hygienic bathrooms. "I have to turn off my app when I'm in Manhattan and drive to the Wegmans in Brooklyn, across the Brooklyn Bridge or Manhattan Bridge, go to Brooklyn just to use the bathroom," she quipped. Moreover, they also must navigate locations with complicated policies, like Manhattan. "We cannot park in Manhattan. If you double park, you get a ticket. So even that is also a problem. We're asking the City of New York, the Department of Transportation (DOT), to allow us some time, like 5 minutes, and let the driver park in a 'no-parking' zone. Such daily work-related challenges affect the quality of service and the City's economy because of the loss of wages and taxes. "It takes a lot of time, said Ogutu." "If you count how many hours I'm wasting, just going to look for a bathroom. And we feel like New York and these app companies should find facilities or even have a contract with a hotel. They can allow us to use the facilities at a fee so that drivers can be comfortable while driving. So, for your safety, your driver needs to be comfortable when driving."

Editorial credit: Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com

Pathway to Membership To become a member of the Coalition, workers can join any of the nine-member organizations free of charge. "All you have to do is check the websites of the different groups and register to be a member," says Ogutu. "Our website is www.nycrideshareclub.org." Another way includes joining a social media group. "The other way is to look for us on Facebook. My group is NYC Rideshare Club. If you are a driver, you must answer questions and send a screenshot of your 'Uber-like' page. All drivers and delivery workers are welcome to join our group," she added.

Message to Passengers & Public In a message to the public, especially passengers, she reaffirmed their commitment to excellent service while advocating for their support in demanding better welfare from the workers. "My message to them today is when you are in the car and see your driver in front of you. Just know that this driver is just like you, going through all the problems you go through. And if you have some extra money, you can tip your driver. It will make their day. Also, please help us with our petition. Whenever you see our petitions, you can help by signing them so that you help us pass our message to Uber and Lyft." The Rideshare President recalled their role during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the most satisfying moments of her profession. "During COVID, our community did a lot for the City. We were doing food delivery to the elderly and the sick. The drivers were given PPE and were able to drop the meals at the door for the grandparents. We made sure everybody had a hot, warm meal during the pandemic. And that's the most fulfilling thing, to see that you have made a difference in that person's life. I'm so proud of our work as drivers and delivery workers during the pandemic. And it's our pleasure and privilege to serve New York City."p

For more information on the Coalition, visit: justiceforappworkers.org

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North America’s Building Trades Unions and Ørsted Agree to Build an American Offshore Wind Energy Industry with American Labor

Washington, D.C. , May 5, 2022: Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) and Ørsted, the U.S. leader in offshore wind energy, announced a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) to construct the company’s U.S. offshore wind farms with an American union workforce. A first-of-itskind in the United States, the National Offshore Wind Agreement (NOWA) sets the bar for working conditions and equity, injects hundreds of millions of dollars in middle-class wages into the American economy, creates apprenticeship and career opportunities for communities most impacted by environmental injustice, and ensures projects will be built with the safest and besttrained workers in America. Authorized by 15 International Union Presidents and their local affiliates, the NOWA covers all of Ørsted’s contractors and subcontractors that will perform offshore windfarm construction from Maine down to Florida. “The signing of this unprecedented agreement is historic for America’s workers and our energy future. NABTU’s highly trained men and women professionals have the best craft skills in the world. This partnership will not only expand tens of thousands of career opportunities for them to flourish in the energy transition but also lift up even more people into the middle-class,” said Sean McGarvey, President of NABTU. “The constant drumbeat of public support for unions being important to maintain and build the middle class helped secure this momentous achievement. We commend Ørsted, AFL-CIO President Shuler, the Biden Administration and many Congressional leaders for their help and support to make today’s signing a reality and for setting forth a new framework for middle-class job creation in all energy sectors.” “This historic milestone is a celebration for workers, clean energy and economic opportunity,” said David Hardy, CEO of Ørsted Offshore North America. “The National Offshore Wind Agreement we signed with NABTU sets the industry standard from the beginning. We’re going to build an American offshore wind energy industry with American workers, family-sustaining wages, and robust and equitable training programs to achieve this critical vision.” Industry reports project that offshore wind will directly create approximately 80,000 jobs with 5.75 million-plus union work hours and tens of thousands more indirect jobs in manufacturing, maritime work, logistics and clean energy technology. Positioning the U.S. as a global offshore wind energy leader, the NOWA training and employment provisions will increase union construction workforce capabilities to build complex offshore wind energy infrastructure and propel forward a new commercial-scale domestic energy industry. Portfolio-wide, Ørsted has already committed $23 million to enhance or establish new programming that will prepare American workers for jobs in offshore wind. “This is what it looks like to put the words ‘high-road labor standards’ into action,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “The partnership between Ørsted and NABTU is monumental, for the thousands of workers who will have great jobs, and for the example it sets for the U.S. offshore wind industry. The project labor agreement signed today is proof that labor and employers working together can create an equitable clean energy transition with opportunity for everyone. When we make good on our values –workers’ rights, gender and racial justice, economic equality, and safe and healthy workplaces – then we all win. This PLA meets that test and sets the bar high for working people and the planet. Clean energy jobs can and will be good-paying, family-sustaining union jobs.” With diversity targets, local training programs, and workforce diversity performance monitoring, the NOWA is designed to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce, while expanding opportunities in offshore wind to frontline communities. It establishes project-by-project Workforce Equity Committees to prioritize recruiting and retaining people of color, women, gender-nonconforming people and local environmental justice communities. Ørsted and the unions are committed to working with NABTU-affiliated pre-apprenticeship programs and Registered Apprenticeship programs that already recruit directly from nonprofit programs to train and support communities of color, women and other priority groups, and the NOWA will build on this precedent. Ørsted operates America’s first offshore wind farm, Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island, and has the largest U.S. offshore wind energy portfolio. Ørsted, with its joint venture arrangements, has six offshore wind projects in development, which include approximately 5,000 megawatts, enough to power more than 2 million homes. In New England, the company and its joint venture partner, Eversource, are building Revolution Wind (704 MW), Sunrise Wind (924 MW) and South Fork Wind (132 MW). Ørsted’s New Jersey projects include Ocean Wind 1 (1,100 MW), in partnership with PSEG, and Ocean Wind 2 (1,148 MW). In Maryland, Ørsted is developing Skipjack Wind (966 MW). Today’s announcement builds on the developers’ successful history of using union labor to deliver high-quality projects in partnership with local building trades councils like the South Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council, the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, and the New York Greater Capital Region Council. Together, the local PLAs and the NOWA, demonstrate Ørsted’s commitment to American organized labor as a true partner in building this new industry.p