This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.
By Andrew Rosen via Iris.xyz
Hopefully, you’ve read part one and heard the argument of why you shouldn’t be overpaying your mortgage. Now, it’s time to turn the tables and argue the other side of this. (As an aside, I always thought I’d be a great attorney. I love to argue, just not as much as O-man though!)
Let’s keep the same rules: we assume a lower interest rate on a 30 year mortgage. Given these favorable assumptions, why would anyone ever overpay their mortgage?
10 reasons TO overpay your mortgage:
1. You are very risk adverse. I can talk and talk (and talk) until I am blue in the face about long term market trends. I realize not everyone is comfortable taking that ride. Previously, a lot of people got burned pretty badly and those wounds are still fresh. To them, taking a 4%-5% interest payment off the table sooner relieves a lot of stress.
2. Overpaying a mortgage helps de-risk a person’s finances. Some people have ample amounts of investment savings. Funds are set aside for college (or already paid) and they have sizeable portfolios preparing them for the future. However, markets are volatile. Even with upward trends, there can be sharp pull-backs as well. For these individuals, it may make sense to put a little extra towards that mortgage each month (or at bonus time). By having that mortgage paid off sooner, it protects against downturns (as ones fixed expenses are lessened).
3. You can time the payments to be completed by retirement. I’m a big fan of this when relevant. A lot of people are on a great track for retirement; they have saved adequately and don’t require an expensive lifestyle to keep them happy. In these instances, if overpaying their mortgage doesn’t strain their finances, then this could be a good idea. Timing it to be done around retirement can also be a massive relief.
4. When overpaying is simply rounding up. What I mean is you and your spouse are doing well financially. Your mortgage is $2,845/mo and you decide to round it up to an even $3,000. That $155/mo is no big deal! This simple rounding up can lead to taking years off of your mortgage and thus saving thousands of dollars of interest.
5. You don’t have a standard mortgage. Believe it or not, people still have mortgages which balloon or adjust. If you are one with that type of mortgage, it is likely due to the fact it was more affordable at the time. However, paying extra now may make sense as it will lower the payments when this period adjusts to a more expensive mortgage. Thus, the remaining mortgage payments will be more affordable.