General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is Buying a House Still the Best Way to Build Wealth? [View all]dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)I got a no escrow, no "pre-payment penalty" 30 year loan, in 2005.
And I put 25% down so I could have that bargaining chip.
No escrow means I pay my own house insurance and taxes.
For the first 5 years I paid extra towards the principal every month, ranging from at least 50.00 to 100.00, depending.
This reduced the the total principal to the equivalent of 5 years off the life, and interest, of the loan...I now have a loan that is considered to have only 15 years to go,
as far as the loan servicer is considered.
Plus our payments are about half of what equivalent rent would be for this house.
Anyone who wants to find out what extra payments, even of only 50.00 a month, would do to various home loans can find "mortgage calculators"
online and plug in various scenarios.
The results can be quite surprising.