Paying an extra $1,000 per month would save a homeowner a staggering $320,000 in interest and nearly cut the mortgage term in half. To be more precise, it'd shave nearly 12 and a half years off the loan term. The result is a home that is free and clear much faster, and tremendous savings that can rarely be beat.
Make Extra Principal Payments
Putting just $200 more per month toward principal, you'd save $80,837 in interest and pay off the mortgage six years and four months earlier. To pay off this same mortgage in 15 years, however, you would need to put an extra $787 per month from the outset of the mortgage.
Some mortgages allow you to overpay as much as you want, but others limit overpayments to a percentage of the amount you owe. On many mortgages, this maximum limit is 10% of the outstanding balance per year. Bear in mind that you could be charged a penalty fee if you overpay by more than the allowed limit.
Making additional principal-only payments on your mortgage can reduce the amount of interest you pay and also help you pay your loan off sooner.
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.
If you're on your lender's standard variable rate or you're on a tracker mortgage, there is normally no limit on how much you can overpay your mortgage by. However, fixed-rate mortgages typically have an annual overpayment limit of 10% of your TOTAL outstanding mortgage balance.
Paying a little extra towards your mortgage can go a long way. Making your normal monthly payments will pay down, or amortize, your loan. However, if it fits within your budget, paying extra toward your principal can be a great way to lessen the time it takes to repay your loans and the amount of interest you'll pay.
If done right, making biweekly mortgage payments leads to less interest paid over the life of your loan, saving you money and whittling your balance down sooner. However, you must confirm that the extra payments are being applied to the principal and that you're not subject to prepayment penalties.
By making 2 additional principal payments each year, you'll pay off your loan significantly faster: Without extra payments: 30 years. With 2 extra payments per year: About 24 years and 7 months.
True to its name, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage spreads out repayment over 30 years, with an interest rate that remains the same for the life of the loan.
You can't prepay, renegotiate or refinance a closed mortgage before the end of the term without a prepayment charge. But, most closed mortgages have certain prepayment privileges, such as the right to prepay 10% to 20% of the original principal amount each year, without a prepayment charge.
By paying more than your required monthly mortgage payment, you can put that extra money directly toward the principal amount on your loan. Your interest payment is based on your principal balance, so by applying your extra payment to your principal, you could pay less in interest over time.
How much do biweekly payments shorten a 30-year mortgage? That partly depends on the interest rate — but on a 30-year mortgage loan with a 7% interest rate, making your mortgage payments biweekly would allow you to pay off your loan seven years faster than with traditional monthly payments.
You decide to increase your monthly payment by $1,000. With that additional principal payment every month, you could pay off your home nearly 16 years faster and save almost $156,000 in interest.
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.
Both the principal and your escrow account are important. It is a good idea to pay money into your escrow account each month, but if you want to pay down your mortgage, you will need to pay extra money on your principal. The more you pay on the principal, the faster your loan will be paid off.
Deciding on a set amount you are going to overpay regularly could help you budget. And if things change you can stop at any time. A lump sum could save you money on interest and clear your mortgage faster, but you won't be able to get your hands on the money once you've paid it over.
Normally, you can make as many extra-payments per year as you like, usually subject to a minimum dollar amount and on a regular payment date. In addition to your maximum annual extra-payment privilege, some lenders also allow you to increase your monthly payment once each year by as much as +20%, year-over-year.
When you make a lump-sum payment on your mortgage, your lender usually applies it to your principal. In other words, your mortgage balance will go down, but your payment amount and due dates won't change.
Reduce your loan term
Making the equivalent of two extra mortgage payments per year, for example, will knock off 9 years and 4 months from the total term of your loan. A shorter mortgage term also means that you'll own your house outright sooner.
Dave Ramsey, the renowned financial guru, has long been a proponent of financial discipline and savvy money management. This can include paying off your mortgage early, but only under specific financial circumstances.
The penalty charge on early termination is equal to 90 days interest payable on the balance outstanding in the home loan – not the original loan amount. Alternatively, interest is charged on the difference between 90 days and the notice period given.