How To Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster | Mortgage

by GrahamMcKenzie

Mortgage loans are designed so that anyone can own a home. The common 30 year payoff is intimidating to most people. There are those that have figured out how to pay the mortgage off faster and shed 5,10 and even 15 years off the life of the loan.

If the loan was obtained at a high interest rate due to a low credit score and you have since increased your score you might consider refinancing. Anytime the loan can be refinanced with a smaller interest rate it should be done, this saves thousands of dollars in interest but will also reduce your monthly payment. A reduced monthly payment will assist you in being able to afford an early pay off method.

There is one way to pay your mortgage off early and feel none of the affects to your budget. You can pay your mortgage loan bi-weekly instead of monthly and receive the benefits of having two extra payments being made that go directly to the principle of the loan each year. This is the easiest method to reducing the life of your mortgage loan as it requires no changes in your lifestyle or budget.

The method of coming up with a lump sum each year to place on the loans principle is harder to do for most people. You can find out from your lender what penalties they have for early pay off and make sure if they do penalize that you stay under the limits to avoid them. You can usually pay a lump payment of 15% of the loan at the end of the year after making your regular monthly payments and notice a tremendous difference in the life of the loan.

For the average person coming up with 15% of the loan amount each year is impossible. To be able to still reap the benefits of over payments and not kill yourself coming up with the money you can pay an additional amount with each months payment. The amount you decide on is up to you and what you can afford as well as the lenders penalization limits.

If you want to find a way to reduce your mortgage by 10 years, 15 years, or more you will need to combine methods. You could begin paying your mortgage bi-weekly and benefit from those two additional payments each year and in addition pay an additional amount on each payment. By paying an additional amount on bi-weekly payments you not only enjoy two extra payments each year but you also have the benefit as if you paid a lump sum amount as well. The more you pay the quicker the payoff so check with your lender about penalties for early payoff amounts. Stay under the limits and if you are lucky enough to have a lender who does not have limits for overpayments then you can reduce the loan as quickly as you would like. .

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

Graham McKenzie is the content coordinator for a leading South African leading Homeloans and Bond Origination portal which provides access to FNB Homeloans.