I say pay it off. Use the cash as leverage. I like to have everything paid off, it's a good feeling to not owe anything.

There's no such thing as an insurance company without a few dozen pending lawsuits. All I can say is I know of far more people that are happy with USAA them than any other insurance company. I only switched to them a few months ago and no claims yet, so I can't offer any personal experience though.

The conventional wisdom on this subject is to finance your house, invest the cash at a higher interest rate, and use your market earnings to make the house payment. Since inflation will eat into the value of the dollar over time, the dollars you would use to pay the mortgage 5-10 years from now will be worth less than the dollars you would use to pay the house off right now.

But, and this is a big but, there is a certain peace of mind that comes with having a roof over your head that's paid for. You can't put a dollar figure on that peace.

My home is paid in full, and I don't have anywhere near the cash that you stated. Guess which approach I like?

I have always loved using other peoples money when it comes to financing. If the interest rate is a good low one finance it. It is also good to have the cash on hand anytime you fill like paying the loan off!

since it was a fire claim do capitol gains come into play on the settlement amount?

Shouldn't. But they do get taken into account against any claimed casualty loss on tax return.

My personal choice, pay it off. You could probably make some money by investing but there's pure satisfaction knowing it's your and it's paid for. It doesn't sound like you're using all the money so you'll still have plenty to invest or have handy in case of emergencies. I totally despise paying anyone any amount of interest.

Just be sure you write your password down and keep it in a safe deposit box don’t wanna forget it when you have 260 mill just setting there and no way to get it.

Finance it. The money is cheap to borrow and the money invested will out perform the mortgage interest losses.

I would finance it with these low interest rates, no house payment is nice but sitting on a million is a good option.

best humble brag of 2021 so far

put a chunk down and put your remaining money to work for you. cheap to borrow and lots of good opportunities out there to make some good returns

If you loan me a million I'll sit on it for you.

LOL, if I had it I would damn sure loan it to you.

USAA is best homeowners insurance out there. I do alot of claims per year, they are the best out there and has the best customer service.