Suggested by Readers

“The best advice I ever received is to get an amortization schedule. It saved me and my family tens of thousands of dollars. Please inform your readers what one is, and how to get one.” – Tom

I always discuss amortization with everyone seeking a loan with me. An amortization schedule is important because it details payments in how a payment is applied to the loan as well as the balance remaining. Amortization is really a process to pay off a debt. By understanding how amortization changes by varying your payment amounts, you can better plan to either pay down a home loan faster or to save thousands in interest.

A commonly related question to the amortization process that many people ask is whether making payments on a bi-monthly basis will pay off their loan faster. The answer is that anytime you are applying payments to the principal amount of the loan prior to interest being charged on the principal, you are paying off your loan faster.

Principal is the amount of the loan due which basically satisfies the amount borrowed minus interest or other fees associated. By paying down the principal, there is a lesser amount that is charged interest.

Because many mortgage loan servicers will charge a fee to set-up bi-monthly payments, it is a lot easier to simply add principal payments to your normal payment. Typically, there is always a place on the payment voucher to add a voluntary principal payment.

It is an interesting view to see the difference in applying $50 extra to paying principal when looking at an amortization schedule. I’m always happy to generate various amortization schedules when someone is wanting to better understand how to pay their home loan balance quicker. There are also a few good online amortization calculators available that calculate new balances based upon how much additional principal you pay.

For more information or to send me a question or to share some advice like Tom, download the PeakApproveMe app or visit PeakMtgNW.com or give me a call to talk at 360.607.9312.

We lend where we live,

Michael Pattullo
MLO# 229675
Mortgage Advisor
360.607.9312
mpattullo@peakmtg.com
Peak Mortgage
Peakmtgnw.com