How to Shorten Your Mortgage by 8 Years

McAllen Real Estate Podcast with Deldi Ortegon

Many would like to pay their house off in 15 years but can't afford the monthly rate of a 15-year loan. Here’s how to pay off a 30-year loan in just 22 years.

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There is a way to knock eight years off the life of your mortgage, and I wanted to share it with you today.

This is a great trick for all of the people out there who would love to pay off their home in 15 years but instead usually opt for a 30-year loan with more affordable monthly payments. With this trick, you can split the difference and turn a 30-year mortgage into a 22-year mortgage.

All you have to do is make one extra payment per year.

Say you come into some extra money, you get a bonus, or it's tax refund season, and you can afford to make a 13th payment at some point during the year—that 13th yearly payment will knock eight years off the life of your mortgage.

All you have to do is make one extra payment per year.

That's not the only way to do it, either. The second strategy is especially helpful for the people who get paid on a bi-weekly basis. Instead of making a monthly payment, talk to your mortgage company about setting up bi-weekly payments on your mortgage. There are 52 weeks in a year, so if you make a half-payment every other week rather than a full payment every month, you pay the equivalent of 13 full payments over the course of the year.

This is one of my absolute favorite tips for homeowners and home buyers. Think of the savings on interest!

I hope you found this tip helpful. If you have any questions for me about shortening the life of your mortgage or about the greater McAllen market, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to help you out.