Your South Carolina home may be one of your largest assets. Buying a house today, however, can be financially challenging, to say the least. In fact, the average home price in the U.S. in the 1970s was just over $42,000. Today, buyers can expect to spend at least $420,000 or more to own a home. While most things, including houses, cost more today than they did 50 years ago, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t pay off your mortgage early.
There are several ways to get ahead to pay off your mortgage before the final payment is due. An early pay off can help boost financial stability and bring peace-of-mind to homeowners want to be debt free. The phrase, “a little goes a long way” is especially true regarding paying off your homeowner’s loan.
Make sure there’s no penalty to pay off your mortgage early
Before considering the ideas listed in this blog post to help pay off your mortgage early, check with your lender to make sure there is no penalty for doing so. The following list provides six potential ways to satisfy the terms of your loan before it’s due:
- Send extra payments each month, noting that the extra must be applied to the principal of your loan, not the interest.
- Make one extra mortgage payment per year by sending an extra 1/12 payment each month.
- Round up your payment due to the nearest hundred.
- Increase each monthly payment by $1 throughout the year.
- Send all windfalls and unexpected income to your mortgage company to pay down the principal on your loan.
- Refinance your mortgage.
While you might not think that doing things like paying an extra dollar per month or adding 1/12 extra to every mortgage payment will help pay off your mortgage early, you’d be surprised at how these ideas can save money on interest and reduce the term of your loan.
Buy a house with these mortgage tips in mind
If you’re in the market to buy a house in Columbia or nearby South Carolina regions, don’t let the idea of a 30-year homeowner’s loan intimidate you. By keeping these payment tips in mind, you might be able to pay off your mortgage early, laying the foundation for a financially secure and stable future. Ask your buyer’s agent to recommend a lender who can help you get the best deal possible.