Paying regular additional payments toward the loan principal will provide enormous returns. People accomplish this goal in a few ways. Paying 1 extra full payment one time every year is likely the simplest to keep track of. However, many folks won't be able to pull off such an enormous extra payment, so splitting a single extra payment into 12 additional monthly payments works too. Another popular option is to pay a half payment every other week. The effect here is that you will make one additional monthly payment each year. Each option yields different results, but they will all significantly reduce the length of your mortgage and lower the total interest paid over the life of the loan.
Some borrowers can't manage extra payments. But it's important to note that most mortgage contracts will allow you to make additional principal payments at any time. You can benefit from this rule to pay extra on your mortgage principal any time you get some extra money.
If, for example, you receive an unexpected windfall three years into your mortgage, you could pay this money toward your mortgage loan principal, resulting in enormous savings and a shorter loan period. Unless the loan is very large, even modest amounts applied early in the loan period can produce huge benefits over the life of the loan.
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