Save Money on Your Mortgage Loan

Did you know if you borrow $100,000 for a mortgage loan, you may pay back as much as $300,000?  Yes, its true, and you may pay more than that depending on the interest rate and the number of years it takes you to repay the loan. The amount is even higher if the terms of your loan require mortgage insurance.

There is a solution if you are able to pay something extra each month even if it is a small amount.  Let’s say you borrowed $100,000 and for your first payment, you paid the regular monthly payment of principal and interest in the amount of $825.00.  As a reasonable example early in the term of the loan, $800 may be applied to interest and $25.00 is applied as principal. Your outstanding balance is now reduced to $99,975.00 and the interest for the next payment is calculated on that amount.  If you had paid an extra $50.00 with the payment, the $50.00 would have paid two more scheduled principal payments and you would have saved two interest payments. Using the above figures as an example you would have saved approximately $1,600.00.  That’s right – $1,600 in interest that you would never have to pay. In addition the interest amount due next month would be calculated on a lower balance.

The terms of the mortgage require a monthly payment of the full amount due for the monthly principal and interest payment. Most mortgage documents allow additional principal payments (also known as curtailments) without penalty; however, you should verify this with the lender or review the loan documents. If there are no penalties, you can save several thousand dollars over the term of the loan plus you don’t have to spend thirty years paying off your loan. As we saw with the example above, a payment of an extra $50.00 resulted in savings in the interest.  (The actual amount will vary depending on the loan amount and interest rate.)

The earlier you start paying additional sums during the life of the loan, the better.  In the early years, the largest portion of your payment is applied as interest with a small amount going to the principal balance.  Those small amounts will be easier to pay as additional principal payments and you will see substantial savings in the interest payments that you will never have to pay. As the balance is reduced the scheduled interest payments will be lower as the interest payment is calculated on the outstanding principal balance.

The principal balance will slowly start decreasing and before you know it, you will see a substantial reduction.  It would be a good idea to ask your Lender to send you an amortization schedule so you can track your savings.  This schedule shows the breakdown of the amount due for principal and the amount due for interest each month.

By reducing your principal balance faster than scheduled you will be able to request cancellation of your mortgage insurance, (MI or PMI) if your loan has insurance.  Lenders require this insurance on loans with a loan to value ratio (LTV) of 80% or more. As your principal balance declines, the LTV will decline quickly as well. The Lender should be contacted for more information on canceling mortgage insurance as early cancellation could save you a substantial sum. This is in addition to the interest savings.

So remember, if you want to save money on your mortgage loan, check your loan documents for any restrictions, request an amortization schedule, and ask about the requirements for cancellation of mortgage insurance.

Enjoy Your Savings!

Bill Manassero is the founder/top dog at “The Old Dawg’s REI Network,” a blog, newsletter and podcast for seniors and retirees that teaches the art of real estate investing.  His personal real estate investing goal, which will be chronicled at olddawgsreinetwork.com, is to own/control 1,000 units/doors in the next 6 years.  Prior to that, Bill and his family lived in Haiti for 12 years as missionaries serving orphaned, abandoned and at risk children.