House Mortgage -- Countdown

[Randomsaver]

Another way to calculate the amount of interest saved is to take your original loan term, I'll assume 30 years at 5.5%. Figure out how much interest you would have paid on that loan with no extra payments...

Take that amount minus the actual interest you did pay and I'll bet you are at a 6-figure savings in interest..

Total interest for that would have been a little over $266K of interest payments -- even higher than my loan. So yeah, based on the path of paying an actual total of $70K, I would save $196K.

Then on the 4% 15-Year refi, total interest would be $85K. But this would already be on top of $24K interest I already paid from the prior loan. So bringing a combined interest of $109K. Based on this, I would save $39K.

Then the last and current one, it is 2.79% 5 year variable. Let's assume for the 15 years it averages at 3%, that would be $49K of interest payment. Add what I already paid from the 2 prior which is $55K, it will combine to $104K. Based on this, I would save $34K.

[greenskeeper]

My mortgage had 17y41 weeks left at the beginning of March, and as of today it has 16y42w left. Okay close enough to a year gone in one month. Wow I am in shock at the moment.

take your amortization schedule and add the interest together for those 12 payments for a real shocker

[Guppy Tender]

Wowsers-Made large progress in March

I literally took off a year off my mortgage in March. Now this is due to the fact that the amount that I was putting down extra for February actually happened at the beginning of March. The payment for march itself was large because I put all of my tax return money towards paying down my mortgage.

My mortgage had 17y41 weeks left at the beginning of March, and as of today it has 16y42w left. Okay close enough to a year gone in one month. Wow I am in shock at the moment.

[greenskeeper]

extra $1500 (double required payment) towards principal for March

[Jluke]

My original rate was 5.5% rate which really killed me on the first 22 months before I was able to pull a refi to 4% which lasted until August 2014 where after I got 2.79%.


If I assumed 15 years and a 4.15% interest (the average of my high 5.5% and my low 2.79%) from start to finish, I would have paid about $90K of total interests, and that is how I derived the savings of $20K.

Another way to calculate the amount of interest saved is to take your original loan term, I'll assume 30 years at 5.5%. Figure out how much interest you would have paid on that loan with no extra payments...

Take that amount minus the actual interest you did pay and I'll bet you are at a 6-figure savings in interest..

[Randomsaver]

So looking at your proposed figures, it is your plan to wrestle down an initial 30 year mortgage to 7 years?

No matter the specific figures, what has not yet been factored is that you must have a place to live. Even a modest apartment can cost $ 1K per month

I wish I'd be that rockstar but I'm not. I call myself a disaster on this mortgage thing.

I got into mortgage back in Jul 2009 and had about close to 5 years of painful interest payments before I started my countdown on April 2014. The goal is to pay my house in 15 years total that is why I was counting down 10 years from that time. My original rate was 5.5% rate which really killed me on the first 22 months before I was able to pull a refi to 4% which lasted until August 2014 where after I got 2.79%.

So far I had paid a total of $66K in interests!

If I continue on my path, I would finish at $70K total interest payment.

If I assumed 15 years and a 4.15% interest (the average of my high 5.5% and my low 2.79%) from start to finish, I would have paid about $90K of total interests, and that is how I derived the savings of $20K.

An interesting analysis I made is comparing rent and rent equivalent (i.e. interest payments + HoA + insurance + tax).

For 15 years, if I was renting $1K a month, that would be $180K (assuming no escalation). My rent equivalent though is $150K, so effectively I would have saved $30K total.

[snafu]

So looking at your proposed figures, it is your plan to wrestle down an initial 30 year mortgage to 7 years?

No matter the specific figures, what has not yet been factored is that you must have a place to live. Even a modest apartment can cost $ 1K per month

[Randomsaver]

Focused Debt : $18K

Focused Debt : $15K

[Randomsaver]

Randomsaver, Amazing ! I believe as we will soon approach April, your home purchase date anniversary, I wonder if you're willing to examine how your razor focus may have impacted your home's value and debt.

As I understand it, you decided to focus on mortgage debt of $ 207,000. mid April 2014. In just 3 years, extra sums applied directly to principal has reduced the debt to about $ 104,000. That's phenomenal ! $103,000 reduction in debt in spite of monthly interest payments that began at $ 450. each month...now about $ 252. required each month.

It seems you have regularly reduced principal by $ 1K monthly. How many payments remain if you continue this astounding pace? How much does Zwillow in your region currently estimate's your house's value? How many months have you eliminated from your initial payment schedule? Have you any guesstimate on how much you've saved thus far in interest payments?

How do you feel this program has impacted your Net Worth?

Thanks snafu!

Getting it down half is a nice milestone for me but it is still a huge debt left. I think if I continue my pace I would see it paid off within 4 years including this year. The last time I checked the values in my subdivision is up around $15K from my purchase price. Add to it the interest savings I computed at $20K if I continued at this pace.

[Randomsaver]

We're at 18k now

Our monthly payment is $1607
Principal $983
Interest $69
Escrow $554 (taxes)

Insurance is on the side. After payoff, we will need to budget about 610 per month to cover taxes and insurance.

You are in payoff zone man! Congrats!

[Randomsaver]

Mortgage Principal - 175,053
Payments Left - 185 (Goal of getting that reduced to 168 and Stretch Goal of 116 months)

I doubt either of those dates are going to happen as we most likely will move in with in-laws before then in order to take care of them.

I am planning to get my parents to live with me by 2020 to take care of them as well. Good luck to you!

[greenskeeper]

Come to New Jersey. We would all kill for taxes that low.

I visit and then go home to PA. Taxes for me are around $200/mo (without looking at the tax bill for specifics)

[Gailete]

Come to New Jersey. We would all kill for taxes that low.

We are in rural PA and ours averages about $363/month plus fire insurance. When hubby started building the house (whose purpose changed entirely when he met me!) I don't think he had the thought of taxes in his head! So we have a big house, most of which is supporting two businesses. Many of the items that he used to build the house with are recycled. Every year we pay horrendous taxes for our part of the country, where if we had just a simple ranch house of 1000-1200 sq feet the taxes would probably be $1-1.5K a year.

Taxes and fire insurance are ongoing bills that will never leave you unless you rent and then you should still get renter's insurance. I do know I would rather be paying just the taxes and insuarance than them plus the mortgage which is fixed rate. I don't know how people are brave enough to sign up for an ARM. I still remember the years when interest rates were going for 14%+. I just checked at Freddic Mac and in the early 80's they were up to over 16%. Here is the link if anyone wants to see and be grateful for today's rates http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms30.htm The 80's were really tough going, especially for young couples just starting out. For awhile just about every young man in our church was laid off.

With rates as low as what we currently have going for us, we should all be doing what we can to get the bills paid off ASAP. While you may not make much by saving actual cash, any one with cash that isn't going towards debts at least has freedom to find other ways to invest. Seeing some of you on your homeward trek of paying off your mortgages are on the right path for sure. I'm hoping to get all our bills and mortage paid off within the next ten years if not sooner. Boy is it work to do!

[disneysteve]

$554/month is taxes sucks.

Come to New Jersey. We would all kill for taxes that low.

[greenskeeper]

We're at 18k now

Our monthly payment is $1607
Principal $983
Interest $69
Escrow $554 (taxes)

Insurance is on the side. After payoff, we will need to budget about 610 per month to cover taxes and insurance.

$554/month is taxes sucks. It's unfortunately true that you never really "own" your home free and clear since the tax man keeps knocking for his handout.