Is There Any Benefit to Making Your Mortgage Payments Early?
Joe from Maryland asks: "Does making your mortgage payment early have any benefit as to how fast it's paid off? I usually pay a week or two before the due date. Does this affect the daily interest or the principal in any way?"
Clark’s Take on Whether Making Early Mortgage Payments Benefits You
Clark says: "Not at all, unfortunately. In the United States, mortgages are not calculated based on a daily rate like credit cards would be. They're calculated on a monthly formula."
The peculiar thing about mortgage payments in America, Clark says, is that “you are on time if it’s paid on the first. You are late after typically the fifth, but you don’t suffer a penalty until the 15th.”
"The important thing is that mortgage payments be made on time, but you get no benefit by paying a week early or 10 days early or anything like that, you still will owe the same amount of money," he says.
However, there's a line between making early mortgage payments and paying your mortgage off early. If you can pay your mortgage off early, here are some steps Clark recommends.
To hear Clark’s full take on this question, listen to the segment:
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