Mortgage loans are designed so that anyone can own a home. The common 30 year payoff is intimidating to most people. There are those that have figured out how to pay the mortgage off faster and shed 5,10 and even 15 years off the life of the loan.
The interest rate of the loan should be as low as possible. If you are in better shape credit wise now then when you purchased you might consider refinancing to get the lower rate. A lower interest rate means a lower monthly payment and this can be very beneficial to be able to pay the mortgage off earlier. You also save thousands of dollars in interest with a lower rate over the life of the loan.
There is one way to pay your mortgage off early and feel none of the affects to your budget. You can pay your mortgage loan bi-weekly instead of monthly and receive the benefits of having two extra payments being made that go directly to the principle of the loan each year. This is the easiest method to reducing the life of your mortgage loan as it requires no changes in your lifestyle or budget.
There are some who pay a large lump sum to the loan at the end of the year. The regular payments are made and then a portion is paid towards the principle. The lender may have limits as to how much can be paid without being penalized so you need to find that out before paying this way. This may be an impossible method for some but for those who do it they pay 15% of the loans balance towards the principle each year and have an extremely early payoff.
For the average person coming up with 15% of the loan amount each year is impossible. To be able to still reap the benefits of over payments and not kill yourself coming up with the money you can pay an additional amount with each months payment. The amount you decide on is up to you and what you can afford as well as the lenders penalization limits.
If you want to find a way to reduce your mortgage by 10 years, 15 years, or more you will need to combine methods. You could begin paying your mortgage bi-weekly and benefit from those two additional payments each year and in addition pay an additional amount on each payment. By paying an additional amount on bi-weekly payments you not only enjoy two extra payments each year but you also have the benefit as if you paid a lump sum amount as well. The more you pay the quicker the payoff so check with your lender about penalties for early payoff amounts. Stay under the limits and if you are lucky enough to have a lender who does not have limits for overpayments then you can reduce the loan as quickly as you would like. .
