Borrowers with a 15-year term pay more per month than those with a 30-year term. In return, they receive a lower interest rate, pay their mortgage debt in half the time and can save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of their mortgage.
The biggest benefit is that instead of making a mortgage payment every month for 30 years, you'll have the full amount paid off and be done in half the time. Plus, because you're paying down your mortgage more rapidly, a 15-year mortgage builds equity quicker.
A 15-year mortgage costs less in the long run since the total interest payments are less than a 30-year mortgage. The cost of a mortgage is calculated based on an annual interest rate, and since you're borrowing the money for half as long, the total interest paid will likely be half of what you'd pay over 30 years.
Pay extra toward your mortgage principal each month: After you've made your regularly scheduled mortgage payment, any extra cash goes directly toward paying down your mortgage principal. If you make an extra payment of $700 a month, you'll pay off your mortgage in about 15 years and save about $128,000 in interest.
Borrowers with a 15-year term pay more per month than those with a 30-year term. In return, they receive a lower interest rate, pay their mortgage debt in half the time and can save tens of thousands of dollars over the life of their mortgage.
Pros of refinancing to a 15-year mortgage
Interest rates for 15-year mortgages are often lower than those on 30-year mortgages. That lower rate, plus a shorter repayment period, can save you tens of thousands (or more) in interest. Paying off your mortgage at a faster pace allows you to build equity more quickly.
A 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage is a great tool for borrowers who can afford the higher payments while still saving and investing for retirement. Paying off a mortgage gives many people a feeling of independence, safety and accomplishment. But if your income is uncertain or variable, avoid the 15-year mortgage.
A 15-year mortgage is designed to be paid off over 15 years. A 30-year mortgage is structured to be paid in full in 30 years. The interest rate is lower on a 15-year mortgage, and because the term is half as long, you'll pay a lot less interest over the life of the loan.
Paying off your mortgage early is a good way to free up monthly cashflow and pay less in interest. But you'll lose your mortgage interest tax deduction, and you'd probably earn more by investing instead. Before making your decision, consider how you would use the extra money each month.
A Both overpaying and shortening the mortgage term are equally beneficial and do exactly the same thing. They both reduce the overall amount of interest paid on the mortgage and shorten its term.
Making additional principal payments will shorten the length of your mortgage term and allow you to build equity faster. Because your balance is being paid down faster, you'll have fewer total payments to make, in-turn leading to more savings.
Because less than 10 percent of homeowners have 15-year mortgages, Bechtel says it's not an option for everyone, mainly because of the higher payments.
You'll save a ton of money in the long run by paying less interest overall on a 15-year mortgage, but it might not be worth maxing out your monthly budget to get that savings. “If thinking about it doesn't keep you up at night worrying,” Lazerson says, you're probably in a good position for a 15-year loan.
Okay, you probably already know that every dollar you add to your mortgage payment puts a bigger dent in your principal balance. And that means if you add just one extra payment per year, you'll knock years off the term of your mortgage—not to mention interest savings!
Advantages and Disadvantages of a 15-Year Mortgage
You save more than half the amount of interest of a 30-year mortgage. Lenders usually offer this mortgage at a slightly lower interest rate than with 30-year loans – typically up to . 5% lower.
The shorter your mortgage term is, the less interest you'll be charged for your loan. That's because lenders take on less risk with shorter-term loans than longer-term ones. If you take out a 30-year mortgage, you could end up spending quite a bit of money on interest by the time your home is fully paid off.
The amount saved will vary based on the initial size of the loan and interest rate. Simply by making an additional payment over the life of a 15-year mortgage for $300,000 dollars at an interest rate of 5%, amounts to an eventual savings of up to 200 dollars monthly.
You should aim to have everything paid off, from student loans to credit card debt, by age 45, O'Leary says. “The reason I say 45 is the turning point, or in your 40s, is because think about a career: Most careers start in early 20s and end in the mid-60s,” O'Leary says.