Are you making accenerated bi-weekly payments?

Over the past number of years banks have come up with a rather confusing set of payment frequency options that have left some mortgage clients a bit disappointed 5 years down the road. Rather than the Amortization crushing ‘Accelerated bi-weekly’ plan which a quality Mortgage Broker will discuss with you, clients left to their own devices run the risk of opting for simply ‘bi-weekly’ payments.  Here is the math; Let’s use a $100,000 mortgage amount (to make working out your own numbers simpler) with a 25 year amortization, a 2.74% interest rate and a 5 year term. Monthly Payments: $460.01 Ending Balance 60 months later: $85,043.18 Now let’s calculate bi-weekly payments and the balance remaining at the end of the 5 year term. Bi-Weekly Payments: $212.18 Ending balance 60 months later: $85,043.60 The balance is 42 cents higher.  This is because you did not effectively pay anything extra over the 60 months to the lender.  The sum of the annual payments is identical.  Now let’s insert    the word ‘ACCELERATED’ (bi-weekly) into the equation. Accelerated bi-weekly Payment: $230.00 Ending balance 60 months later: $82,563.13 Ah-ha, now you have a $2,480.47 lower balance, and you have paid $163.87 less interest over the 5 years.  Excellent! How did this happen?  When one opts for ‘accelerated’ in the above scenario, the payment increases by $17.82 per payment, or $463.32 per year.  For a total of $2,316.60 in additional funds going straight to the mortgage balance. The big picture is improved as well, as you have effectively lowered your amortization from 25 years to 22 years and 5 months. Shaving 2.5 years off a 25 year mortgage might not seem huge, but in 22.5 years it surely will make you happy.  Imagine having $460.00 more per month (per $100,000 of mortgage balance) to play with for 2.5 years. If you started with a $300,000 mortgage, then we are talking about $1380.02 per month X 30 which is a total of $41,400.60.  All from one word ‘accelerated’.  If you would like to try this with your own mortgage contact David Cooke , your Calgary mortgage broker at http://davidcooke.ca

 

Becoming Mortgage-Free Faster

Regardless of how long you’ve had your mortgage or how large or small the current balance is, there are a variety of ways to make prepayments work for you to pay down your mortgage faster and, therefore, pay less interest throughout the life of your mortgage. After all, each extra payment amount will reduce your principal balance, which, in turn, reduces the amount of interest you’ll have to pay on your borrowed mortgage amount. Most lenders allow you to make a lump-sum payment of anywhere between 10% and 25% of the value of your mortgage per year. The lump-sum payment is based on either the original amount you borrowed or the amount currently outstanding. Since mortgages decrease with each payment, it’s best to negotiate a lump-sum payment option based on the original amount you borrow. That way, if you come into an inheritance, a bonus or save some extra money, you can pay down the largest amount possible. Another factor to consider is when you can make a lump-sum payment. Some mortgages allow prepayments throughout the year, while others permit them only on the anniversary date. Still others allow you to make prepayments on the day you make your regular payment. If you can’t pay the maximum prepayment amount, it’s still worth your while to at least make some form of extra payments, even if it’s a few

thousand dollars each year. That will still save you thousands of dollars in interest payments throughout the life of your mortgage. Another prepayment option involves taking advantage of flexible payments. Most lenders allow you to increase your regular payment up to a set maximum, such as 15%, while others allow you to double up your payments. If, for instance, you have a $1,000 per month mortgage payment and increase it by 15% to $1,150, you could shave off as much as five-and-a-half years on a $200,000 mortgage. Even rounding up your mortgage payments a few dollars each payment can help make your balance decline sooner. If you round up your mortgage payment from, say, $766 to an even figure such as $800, you can feel confident in knowing that every extra bit goes toward your principal. You can also pay off your mortgage faster by moving to a different payment schedule. Instead of making monthly payments, make them biweekly or even weekly. Using an accelerated mortgage payment plan – where you make payments every two weeks as opposed to twice a month – you actually make one extra payment each calendar year. By paying more and paying faster, you reduce your principal earlier, which lowers the amount of interest you pay. As always, if you have questions about paying your mortgage off quicker, or other mortgage-related questions, I’m here to help!

feel free to contact me with any questions at http://davidcooke.ca