You might need to call to ask about their policy on applying biweekly payments and whether they have a plan you can enroll in. Some mortgage servicers don’t have sophisticated online systems. You’ll still end up making extra principal payments, but they’ll only be applied twice a year, with your 13th and 26th biweekly payments instead of a smaller amount every two weeks. But those systems don’t always benefit borrowers as much as they could because the lender might only apply your payments when you’ve paid enough to make a full monthly payment. Some lenders offer an easy way for borrowers to make biweekly payments. Check your mortgage servicer’s website.If you want to pay your mortgage biweekly, there are several ways to do it, and one method to avoid. How to Set Up a Biweekly Mortgage Payment Even if it does, the penalty probably does not apply unless you’re repaying the entire mortgage within three years of closing. If you took out your loan on or after January 10, 2014, your loan probably doesn’t have a prepayment penalty. If you took out your loan before January 10, 2014, check your mortgage paperwork or contact your mortgage servicer to find out (and get the answer in writing). If your lender is going to handle your payment like that, you’ll need to use a different strategy, as discussed below.Īnother concern you might have is whether your loan has a prepayment penalty. Some lenders won’t accept them at all, and others will hold them until you’ve sent in enough for a full payment. The mortgage paperwork you signed when you took out your home loan should specify whether your lender will apply partial payments. If an unexpected bill arises, you don’t want to be caught off guard and have to borrow money to pay it after putting all your extra cash toward your home loan. Prepaying your mortgage doesn’t make sense unless you have a robust emergency fund with at least six months of expenses saved up. Retiring those debts faster will likely have a greater financial benefit in the near term. Putting extra money toward your mortgage (or auto loan) won’t save you as much as putting extra money toward your student loan or credit card which have higher interest rates. Let’s say your mortgage interest rate is 4% and your other debts include an auto loan at 2%, a student loan at 6% and a credit card at 16%. Now that you know the pros and cons of making biweekly mortgage payments, you can evaluate how this strategy applies to your situation. Is a Biweekly Mortgage Payment Right for Me? If you don’t have your closing disclosure or if you took out your loan back when lenders used HUD-1 statements, contact your mortgage servicer to ask about their biweekly payment policy or look on its website. Check page 4 of your mortgage closing disclosure to see if your lender will apply partial payments to your loan. The only way to access cash faster is with a new loan: a cash-out refinance, a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Once you pay extra mortgage principal, you can’t just ask your lender to give it back if you’re short on cash.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |