You can pay off your mortgage before the end of your loan agreement, whether you'd like to make extra payments over time or pay off the entire amount at once. However, if you decide to take the latter, lump-sum approach, prepayment penalties may apply.
Additionally, the term of the mortgage can be drastically reduced by making extra payments or a lump sum. Combining both strategies can make an even bigger difference. The good news is it doesn't take much to make a big difference in savings.
Paying a lump sum off your mortgage will save you money on interest. It will also help you clear your mortgage faster than if you spread your overpayments over a number of years. But this option holds risk. If you needed the money back in an emergency, such as job loss, it could be difficult.
A recast mortgage allows you to pay a lump sum toward your mortgage in order to reduce your remaining monthly payments and interest. When you recast your mortgage, you'll keep the same interest rate and term. Recasting might be simpler and cheaper than refinancing, depending on how much you pay in the lump sum.
For example, if your original mortgage principal amount was $400,000, then you can make a lump sum payment of up to $60,000 every year. Tip: You can pay the 15% lump sum payment all at once — or over time during the calendar year. Chat with a Mortgage Specialist for more details.
Making additional principal payments reduces the amount of money you'll pay interest on – before it can accrue. This can knock years off your mortgage term and save you thousands of dollars.
The additional amount will reduce the principal on your mortgage, as well as the total amount of interest you will pay, and the number of payments.
Making extra payments of $500/month could save you $60,798 in interest over the life of the loan. You could own your house 13 years sooner than under your current payment. These calculations are tools for learning more about the mortgage process and are for educational/estimation purposes only.
Options to pay off your mortgage faster include:
Bi-weekly payments instead of monthly payments. Making one additional monthly payment each year. Refinance with a shorter-term mortgage.
Even one or two extra mortgage payments a year can help you make a much larger dent in your mortgage debt. This not only means you'll get rid of your mortgage faster; it also means you'll get rid of your mortgage more cheaply. A shorter loan = fewer payments = fewer interest fees.
It's typically smarter to pay down your mortgage as much as possible at the very beginning of the loan to avoid ultimately paying more in interest. If you're in or near the later years of your mortgage, it may be more valuable to put your money into retirement accounts or other investments.
Before paying off a loan ahead of schedule, it's important to read the fine print. Based on the terms of your loan, you could be subject to a prepayment penalty for paying off your mortgage early. Typically, loans older than three years are not subject to this type of penalty.
If you are under 45, it's difficult to argue that your dollars would be better served paying off your mortgage unless you are on Step 9, pre-pay low-interest debt. You should aim to be completely debt-free by retirement, and after age 45 you can begin thinking more seriously about pre-paying your mortgage.
As a general rule of thumb, making one extra mortgage payment per year at the start of your 30-year mortgage can shorten the term by approximately four to five years. You could potentially pay off the mortgage and own the home outright in 25 to 26 years instead of 30.
If you pay $100 extra each month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 4.5 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $26,500. If you pay $200 extra a month towards principal, you can cut your loan term by more than 8 years and reduce the interest paid by more than $44,000.
Add extra dollars to every payment
Each month, the extra $200 will pay down your loan's principal and help you pay it off more quickly.
This commonly used guideline states that you should spend no more than 28 percent of your income on your housing expenses, and no more than 36 percent on your total debt payments. If you're earning $100,000 per year, your average monthly (gross) income is $8,333. So, your mortgage payment should be $2,333 or less.
The 10/15 rule
If you can manage to pay 10% of your mortgage payment every week (in addition to your usual monthly payment) and apply it to the principal of your loan, you can pay off your 30-year mortgage in just 15 years.
Paying down the principal means you owe less interest each month because your loan balance shrinks. Making extra mortgage payments — and applying them to the principal — reduces your principal balance little-by-little, so you end up saving money and owing less interest over the life of the loan.
Ideally, you want your extra payments to go towards the principal amount. However, many lenders will apply the extra payments to any interest accrued since your last payment and then apply anything left over to the principal amount. Other times, lenders may apply extra funds to next month's payment.
Let's say you have a 30-year mortgage at 5.5% and owe $300,000 on your home. Your principal and interest payment runs around $1,700 per month. By applying an extra $250 per month toward the principal, you'll shave seven years and nine months from the time it takes to pay the loan in full.
When you make biweekly payments, you could save more money on interest and pay your mortgage down faster than you would by making payments once a month. When you decide to make biweekly payments instead of monthly payments, you're using the yearly calendar to your benefit.