How To Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

For most people a mortgage loan of 30 years is the only way for them to affordably own a home. The monthly payments are all they feel they can afford. If they were to be told they could pay their mortgage off faster and not have to come up with more money or make changes to their budgets do you think they would go for it?

Most people do not realize how easy it is to pay a mortgage off faster than the bank states. The first rule should be to have the best possible interest rate. If your credit score is better now than when you obtained the loan refinancing might be in order. The lower the interest rate the easier to pay the loan off quicker and you also save thousands in interest payments.

The easiest way to pay the mortgage off faster is to split the payments. Instead of making a monthly payment of $1000 you should make bi-weekly payments of $500 each. This method allows you to make 2 extra mortgage payments each year without ever noticing it in your budget. The two extra payments that are made are going directly to the principle of your loan and will reduce your loan life.

You can choose to pay a large lump sum annually. The large amount of money goes directly to the principle and can dramatically reduce your loan. Most lenders will have limits of the amount of over payment you can pay without penalty so speak to them and find out what limits you are restricted to if any. You might be able to shave off 5 or ten years using this method. It can be hard to come up with so much money at once for many people.

To be more realistic you can use the method of paying an additional amount each month instead of annually. This method allows you to pay on the principle each month and it is much more affordable for people to do this than the other method. The amount you decide on is up to you and what you can afford. The loans lifetime will shorten the more you pay each month.

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. .