Paying regular additional payments on the loan principal can yield enormous savings. Borrowers make this happen in a few different ways. Making one extra payment once a year is likely the simplest to arrange. If you can't pay an extra whole payment all at once, you can split that large amount into 12 smaller payments and pay that additional amount monthly. Finally, you can commit to paying half of your mortgage payment every other week. Each of these options produces different results, but they will all significantly shorten the length of your mortgage and lower your total interest paid.
It may not be possible for you to pay extra every month or even every year. But remember that most mortgage contracts will allow additional payments at any time. Whenever you come into unexpected money, you can use this rule to pay a one-time additional payment on mortgage principal. Here's an example: five years after buying your home, you receive a very large tax refund,a large legacy, or a cash gift; , paying a few thousand dollars into your mortgage principal will significantly shorten the period of your loan and save a huge amount on mortgage interest over the duration of the mortgage loan. For most loans, even this relatively modest amount, paid early in the mortgage, could offer huge savings in interest and length of the loan.
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