Dear Dr. Don, I recently bought my first home. I financed $75,000 at 5.25 percent fixed for 30 years. The first payment is due Nov. 1, 2009. I have been told that making an extra principal-only payment each year on the anniversary date of the loan will reduce the life of the loan to around 18 or 19 years. Is this true? -- Kathleen CalculatesDear Kathleen, Making additional principal payments on your mortgage shortens the life of the loan, but to shorten a 30-year loan down to 18 or 19 years would require an additional principal payment of about $1,400 to $1,500 per year.You can use features on Bankrate's mortgage calculator to try different strategies to shorten the loan. I tried putting in $120 a month in additional principal payments. That shortened the loan by about 11.5 years and reduced total interest expense (pretax) from $74,095 to $41,568 -- a savings of $32,527. (However, the loss of the mortgage interest deduction on your taxes would reduce the interest savings.)Making a smaller additional principal payment each month may result in slightly more savings compared to making a lump sum payment once a year. But the difference is close enough that you should take the approach you're more likely to stick with over time.To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask the Experts" page, and select one of these topics: "Financing a home," "Saving & Investing" or "Money." Read more Dr. Don columns for additional personal finance advice. Create a news alert for "mortgage" advertisementRelated Links:4 questions on $6,500 home tax creditDocs for modsCan't refinance without mortgageRelated Articles:Mortgage BasicsShould you refinance?Mortgage prepay pays off?
Dear Dr. Don, I recently bought my first home. I financed $75,000 at 5.25 percent fixed for 30 years. The first payment is due Nov. 1, 2009. I have been told that making an extra principal-only payment each year on the anniversary date of the loan will reduce the life of the loan to around 18 or 19 years. Is this true? -- Kathleen Calculates
Dear Kathleen, Making additional principal payments on your mortgage shortens the life of the loan, but to shorten a 30-year loan down to 18 or 19 years would require an additional principal payment of about $1,400 to $1,500 per year.
You can use features on Bankrate's mortgage calculator to try different strategies to shorten the loan. I tried putting in $120 a month in additional principal payments. That shortened the loan by about 11.5 years and reduced total interest expense (pretax) from $74,095 to $41,568 -- a savings of $32,527. (However, the loss of the mortgage interest deduction on your taxes would reduce the interest savings.)
Making a smaller additional principal payment each month may result in slightly more savings compared to making a lump sum payment once a year. But the difference is close enough that you should take the approach you're more likely to stick with over time.
To ask a question of Dr. Don, go to the "Ask the Experts" page, and select one of these topics: "Financing a home," "Saving & Investing" or "Money." Read more Dr. Don columns for additional personal finance advice.
Create a news alert for "mortgage"
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