I will be closing around August 1 and I was wondering if there were any strategies for reducing the principal and/or interest from the very start of the loan. Thanks!
2006-06-14 06:23:18 · 5 answers · asked by spidermonkey_8 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
As a mortgage lender who has been in business for more than 20 years, I can tell you that one of the best strategies is to make extra payments towards the principal balance. You can do this in several ways: when you mail in your monthly payment, include a check for an additional amount (if you just round up to the nearest $100 you should be fine). You want to use a separate check and notate "apply to principal" in the memo section because if you don't the lender may not know what you want them to do with it and put it in your reserve account (tax and insurance reserve) instead. Then, when you get your tax refund each year, pay yourself first by making an extra principal and interest payment using the same system. Just one extra principal and interest payment a year will reduce the term on a 30 yer loan to less than 24 years so with extra principal payments monthly as well, you should be able to cut the term almost in half and save yourself almost 15 years worth of interest.
2006-06-14 07:04:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Reduce your principal by prepaying whatever you can on a regular basis. But before you do that, make sure the note you signed specified that there will not be a prepayment penalty if you pay the loan off before the final maturity date.
My hubby and I bought our house about 6 years ago. We have been prepaying for a couple of years now. By the end of this year, we should be all finished with our mortgage. By then, all the money we make goes into our pocket for leisure, investment, kids... etc.
Good luck.
2006-06-16 12:16:09 · answer #2 · answered by Anna 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Quite frankly, the best way to really reduce principal and/or interest on a loan is to pay in full and in cash that which you are tempted to finance.
Having consumer debt is a leading cause of financial slavery.
2006-06-14 13:42:18 · answer #3 · answered by Darren J Smalley 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can save on the Mortgage Insurance Protection by breaking the loan into two amounts so that it falls under the radar of the MIP.
2006-06-14 13:56:16 · answer #4 · answered by educated guess 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my mother fefinanced her home and saved a lot of money. make sure u make a good down payment. Also if u have extra cash pay extra amounts to the principal balance
2006-06-14 13:28:12 · answer #5 · answered by mamacas00 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋