As with any loan or line of credit, there are benefits to getting your mortgage paid down. You’ll pay less in interest, potentially saving thousands over the repayment period. Moreover, you’ll own your home outright that much quicker.
Let’s explore four money-smart strategies that will help you to pay your mortgage off faster.
Start With The Obvious And Increase Your Payments
It won’t come as a surprise that one of the easiest ways to get your mortgage paid off is to increase the amount you put towards your monthly payments. Most lenders will allow you to place any extra funds directly against the outstanding loan amount or “principal.” This is very efficient as it avoids having to commit any additional funds to interest.
One trick that many families use is to round the payment amount up to the nearest hundred-dollar figure. For example, if your mortgage payment is $652.32, you would pay $700 instead. This might be an easy burden on your wallet but still amounts to an extra seven percent of your payment.
Accelerate Your Payment Schedule
Another way to get your mortgage paid off as quickly as possible is to accelerate how frequently you make payments. For example, if you are currently making payments on a monthly basis, you can switch to bi-weekly payments instead. This means that instead of 12 large payments per year, you’re making 26 smaller payments. However, your interest will still compound on a monthly basis which means that over time you’ll end up paying less in interest. Not all mortgage products support this, so it is best to check with your mortgage professional to ensure it is an option open to you.
Dedicate Your Tax Refund To Your Mortgage
If you receive a tax refund or other large sum of money, consider using it to pay your mortgage down further. This is an excellent use for a spare block of cash as it gets you one step closer to owning your home, free and clear.
Refinance Your Mortgage To A Shorter Term
Finally, one last strategy is to look at a shorter term for your mortgage. For example, if you started with a 30-year amortization, you can refinance down to a 15-year loan instead. This will require having access to significantly more money to place against your payment, so be sure to carefully budget for this additional cost.
These are just four of the many ways that you can get your mortgage loan paid off faster. For more information or to inquire about a mortgage for your next home, contact us today. Our professional team is happy to share additional strategies that can have you owning your dream home in no time.
If you are in the market for a new home, you’ve probably begun the process of choosing the neighborhood or community in which you want to live. The perfect spot to call home will depend on your age, the size and composition of your family, your working life and other factors. However, one thing you may not know is that the community you choose to live in can also impact your mortgage. In today’s post, we’ll explore how the local area in which you live can affect your mortgage financing and interest rate.
Buying a new home is one of the most exciting experiences a person or family can have. Of course, before you can step foot into your new dream home you will need to get prepared financially, especially if you are taking out a mortgage to cover some of the purchase price. Let’s take a look at a few key steps that will help you to prepare for the financial background checks that are part of the mortgage process.
Are you thinking about buying a new home? If you are going to take out mortgage financing, one consideration you will have is your down payment, which is the amount you pay up front in cash to cover some of the purchase cost. Let’s consider a few points that will help you to decide how much is the right amount for your down payment.
Are you in the market for a new house or apartment? If you are financing the purchase by taking out a mortgage, you’ll want to know how to make this transaction run as smooth as possible. In today’s article, we’ll share a quick four-step guide to speeding up the mortgage closing process.
Whether you are just starting to shop for a new home or you’ve been paying off your mortgage for years, the news of potential interest rate increases may be worrying. Of course, interest rates naturally cycle higher and lower over time, so is there anything to be genuinely concerned about? In today’s article, we’ll explore interest rates and how you can prepare for an upward trend in rates if and when the time comes.
Have you been considering a mortgage for your next home purchase? As with any loan or financial product, there are a variety of fees and costs you may incur in the process of closing your mortgage. In today’s post, we’ll explore a few of these potential fees and the situations in which you may encounter them. Let’s get started!
Are you in the market for a new home? If you are going to rely on mortgage financing to cover some of the purchase cost, you will need to start the application process as soon as possible. However, what if you just need to know how much you will be able to borrow so you can start finding homes in your price range?
Are you ready for home ownership? The prospect of owning your own house or apartment is an exciting one, but with any financial transaction this large there are some things to consider. The first is your down payment – that is, the initial payment you’ll put against the cost of the house to reduce the amount that you’re borrowing in a mortgage. Let’s have a look at four habits that will help you to get your down payment saved up faster.
Are you thinking about buying a new home? If you are going to make use of mortgage financing, you may be wondering about some of the costs attached. As you may have heard, all mortgages have a number of fees and other costs that are assessed at the “close,” or when you finalize the loan. Let’s take a look at a few expert tips that will help you to keep your closing costs to a minimum when you take out your next mortgage.