Have you heard about mortgage cycling? Maybe you’ve seen the ads for books on this “secret technique” for paying off your mortgage sooner. Is there some useful information in them? Yes, especially if you are not familiar with the basic premise that you can pay extra principle every year and you’ll pay off the loan sooner and save thousands on interest.
Mortgage cycling is dressed up as a “new” system, and of course there are many little tricks to doing this most effectively. There are more risky techniques too, like using short-term home-equity loans to pay down your primary mortgage now. This latter technique could cost you more in interest or even put you into financial trouble that leads towards foreclosure.
The safest way of “mortgage cycling” is to just put large lump sums of money towards your mortgage loan every few months to a year. Pay thousands of pounds extra per year, and you will pay off your loan many years sooner. No surprise there, right, but what if you don’t have the hundreds of pounds a month extra needed to do this?
Money For Mortgage Cycling
Don’t assume you can’t come up with SOME extra money, at least each year. Some will say they can’t, and yet still add hundreds of pounds per month to credit card payments from buying anything from expensive shoes to snowmobiles. There’s nothing wrong with buying these things, but the choice is yours if you want to pay down that mortgage instead.
You can also pay off large chunks of principle by using your annual tax refund, insurance settlements that are not otherwise allocated, and any cash gifts or prizes you may receive.
How much sooner you can pay off your mortgage depends on how much extra you pay and when. The sooner you pay extra money towards the principle, the better. Let’s demonstrate with a simple example, just making an extra payment each month.
Suppose you have a 160,000 30-year mortgage at a 7% annual interest rate. Regular monthly payments would be 1064.40. If you looked at your second payment you would see that it’s composed of 932.57 interest and 131.83 principle (the amount you actually pay down the loan). Just add 131.83 to your normal payment of 1064.40, and you have taken an entire month off the time it will take to pay off your mortgage.
If you did this each month, you would cut the time to pay off your loan in half. The principle part of the payment would be growing with each payment, so the extra payment would be a little more each month (around 137 by the end of the first year), but hopefully over the years your income will rise enough to afford that. Consider that if you pay normally, your last year of the mortgage you’ll pay 12,772.80 (1064.40 x 12 months). On the other hand, pay about an extra 1600 that first year, in the way shown above, and you’ll eliminate that entire last year – a savings of over 11,000!
Other ways to pay off extra principle need to be evaluated carefully. You could, for example, put a few thousand of your savings towards the loan now and save perhaps tens of thousands in interest over the years. However, will you then need to pay even higher credit card rates because you emptied your savings account and need some money? You could cash in stocks and apply the money to the loan, but will you be giving up a 9% return to pay down a 7% mortgage? You may also want to consider paying off any debts with higher interest rates before you apply extra money to your mortgage.
To keep it simple, set aside extra money every month and apply it to the loan. Then use any other money that may otherwise be squandered (like tax refunds). If you just do a few simple things to pay something extra on the loan each year, and you can forget about complicated mortgage cycling plans.
Basically, a mortgage refers to a long-standing credit that a debtor obtains from a financial institution or from a property seller. If you are in a need of large amount of money to buy a house, a home mortgage is a good alternative for you.
In most cases, the house is the usual collateral for the mortgage, thus the term “home mortgage”. In turn, the mortgage lender will be entitled to some legal rights upon the property as long as the mortgage is in full force or until the debtor pays back the loan.
A home mortgage serves as security for loans, thus giving the lender the power to acquire the property through foreclosure in the event that the borrower fails to pay the loan on time.
Normally, a home mortgage is comprised of a large loan. That’s why in most cases a home mortgage can take 15 to 30 years before the borrower can pay back the due amount. In a home mortgage, the due amount to be paid by the borrower stipulates the principal amount of the mortgage and the interest owed relative to the outstanding balance. The real estate taxes and property insurance are also factored into the total mortgage balance.
Some home owners who find it difficult to make their mortgage payments may opt for refinancing of their mortgage. But for those who wish to pay off a home mortgage quickly, there are things to be considered…
1. Make sure you have a stable source of income. Organize your overall financial assets to ensure that paying off your mortgage will not over-extend your cash flow. There are many such considerations that should be carefully planned and organized before resorting to pay-off your home mortgage.
2. You should have a ready reserve of cash just in case of emergencies. This can be in the form of stocks and bonds, a bank savings account, or any other readily available form of cash.
3. Look at your overall financial status. Paying off your home mortgage can be a rewarding experience, but be sure to consider your overall financial status before making the decision to do so. The wrong decision can put you at great financial risk.
If you have considered above considerations already and you think you ready for it, then go for it. After all, nothing beats a worry-free, mortgage-free financial status.
The subprime mortgage crisis has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue lately, and the housing market has cooled. Rather than being discouraged by this, smart investors realize that this is the time for deals to be had. We’re in a buyer’s market, which is an enormous relief for buyers who have watched the market balloon over the last decade. But what if you are one of the thousands of people who got caught up in the low-interest madness, thinking you’d be making enough money to cover the difference when your rates reset?
If you are facing difficulties with your loan, remember that the ultimate goal is to maintain your credit rating. You may be able to negotiate with your lender, you may be able to refinance or you may be forced to sell your home now in order to buy one in the future, but the sooner you address the issue the more options you will have. By getting your finances in order you will be able to get on with your life sooner. Don’t add to your stress by ignoring your fiscal situation; follow these steps to getting back on track:
Know the details go over all your loan documents so that you are prepared for any upcoming resets or changes. When will your payments increase? By how much? Can you refinance? What kind of penalty would you face, if any? Cut in other areas can you take a roommate or a second job to help make your payments? You may need to look at significant changes in your spending and lifestyle. Do not make any major purchases at this time, and look at liquidating other assets, such as cars or boats, to help meet your payments.
Contact your lender You should take the initiative with your lender. Contact them before the problem becomes overwhelming. If you receive calls or letters from your lender respond to them as soon as possible. Do not wait to get too far behind lenders are less likely to move quickly into foreclosure if you are proactive. You want to speak to the right people ask for the loss mitigation or collections department. Be honest with them about your situation and don’t make promises you can’t keep.
Beware of foreclosure “rescue” rackets There are a number of scam artists targeting people in neighborhoods where foreclosure rates have been high. They approach troubled homeowners with promises to help them keep their houses. These “rescues” often come with payments that are out of reach of the average homeowner and result in homeowners being defrauded of their homes, sometimes still owing the original mortgage amount. Any company that approaches you with such an offer should be checked out through the Better Business Bureau, your state real estate commission and Attorney General. Do not sign anything without reading it all, get all promises in writing and ask your attorney or a financial professional to review any paperwork before you sign it.
Call a nonprofit group offering free housing advice for more information and counseling. They may be able to help you with your options. If you took out a loan between Jan. 1 2005 and July 30, 2007, are current on your loan payments and your mortgage has not yet reset to a higher rate, you may be eligible for a five year rate freeze.
If all else fails, negotiate a short sale – if you have missed more than two payments but your home has not yet gone into foreclosure you may be able to sell it for a price that falls short of what you owe the lender. If your mortgage holder agrees to accept the price and forgive the rest of your debt, they forgo the pricey foreclosure process and you walk away with minimal damage to your credit score. You can chalk it up to experience, save up a down payment and buy low.