Interest?

Q: Is the use of a Colorado second mortgage on a primary residence to finance the purchase of a car completely legit in terms of writing off interest? I have a second mortgage on my home. Is that mortgage recorded at the County's Deeds Office? If so, may I inspect it? And what do I ask for when I go?

A: What you cannot do is use the funds to purchase tax-exempt securities and then deduct the interest. As long as the total of "equity" mortgage loans does not exceed $100K. Also, don't get caught in the trap of paying it off over 30 years. Pay enough that the principal that went into the car is repaid in 3-5 years (what you'd choose for normal auto financing) Almost certainly, if the mortgage holder wanted any security. Our county clerk's office has a computerized index of mortgages by name. Recent mortgage iamges are scanned onto disks, older ones exist only in hard copy. It depends on how modern things are.

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