Whats the best way to pay off your mortgage fast and why?

Question

Whats the best way to pay off your mortgage fast and why?

Answer 1

There is no trick. Just pile as much cash on the loan as you can every month. Plain and simple.

Answer 2

In addition to paying off other debt first I would also point out that if your employer offers a 401K with a matching contribution you should contribute the amount that qualifies for the maximum employer contribution.  This is free money, don't pass it up.

After that, make sure you have 6 months expenses set aside as an emergency fund and save money each month for car maintenance ($50 per car each month), home repair and medical needs.  Having the mortgage paid down won't help with unexpected expenses, you need to have money set aside.

God bless!  

Answer 3

The best way is to do it.

If you have a large mortgage and can't just write a check for the entire amount, then you need to look at your budget.  Without dipping into your emergency fund, how much extra can you comfortably send in each year, each quarter, each month?

Look at your payment booklet (or however it's done these days).  Can you bump the payment or do you have to send in the money separately?  Do you have to mark the payment in a special way?  

There is nothing magic about making bi-weekly payments or using an arcane HELOC arrangement, so don't pay someone to set one of these up for you. Figure out how to get the money into the bank and just do it.  (The new HELOC deals have a fee of $3000 attached to it.)

Answer 4

Before you pay down your  mortgage, make sure all your other debt is paid off. The other debt probably has a higher rate attached to it and most certainly is not tax deductible. Once that is done, you pay off your mortgage more quickly by making larger payments. 100% of your overage goes to reducing your principal amount, none of it goes to interest.  

Answer 5

Well, people disagree on the issue of whether or not that's a good idea.  It really depends on what else you are going to do, or have going on at the same time.  Some would say a mortgage is "good debt" and should be held on to for as long as possible assuming a low interest rate.  So, if you could pay your regular mortgage and at the same time be saving money on the side for retirement at a decent rate, you could possibly hurt yourself by NOT saving money because you are paying extra on your mortgage.  Others would say it's always best to get rid of debt.  But if you do decide to pay extra on your mortgage, make sure the bank or finance company is actually applying any additional money paid to the principal of the loan.  

Answer 6

Make an additional payment to principal only every month.  When you pay down the principal, you pay a lot less interest over the term of the loan.

There are all sorts of cutesy plans to 'trick' you into paying more to the principal.  Like paying every two weeks, resulting in 13th payment.