How To Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster

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Written by Graham McKenzie

Thursday, 09 July 2009 09:03

by GrahamMcKenzie

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?

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.

There are some who pay a large lump sum to the loan at the end of the year. The regular payments are made and then a portion is paid towards the principle. The lender may have limits as to how much can be paid without being penalized so you need to find that out before paying this way. This may be an impossible method for some but for those who do it they pay 15% of the loans balance towards the principle each year and have an extremely early payoff.

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. .

Information:

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

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