Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

kittyke Posted: Jun 30, 2004 09:07 AM

Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

We have been thinking of doing this, we got some information in the mail and it takes off 6 years of your mortgage because of the extra payments. It is the same as adding extra $$ to the principle every month, but this way is just more disciplined Any input?

luvsun27 Posted: Jun 30, 2004 09:32 AM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

It's a great idea...if you can do it. When I inquired about it....I had to pay the month in advance....for example, for June 1st mortgage, they would deduct half from first pay-period in June and second half from 2nd pay-period in June. So, in order to get started...it was like making 2 mortgage payments in one month. I just haven't had the ability to have the cash flow to do that yet....but it is so worth it if you do it.

Lisa Rose Posted: Jun 30, 2004 09:37 AM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

we dont pay bi-monthly but we do make one WHOLE extra payment a year. I took our mortgage payment, divided it by 12, then added that amount to out mortgage payment and that is what we pay each month. Its really helping knock off the principle and what is nice is if one month we need to make the payment without the extra $$$$ we can. Remember, when you sign up for bi-monthky payments with the bank/mortgage co you are committed to that amount.

Niecey Posted: Jun 30, 2004 09:40 AM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

Posted by Lisa Rose

we dont pay bi-monthly but we do make one WHOLE extra payment a year. I took our mortgage payment, divided it by 12, then added that amount to out mortgage payment and that is what we pay each month. Its really helping knock off the principle and what is nice is if one month we need to make the payment without the extra $$$$ we can. Remember, when you sign up for bi-monthky payments with the bank/mortgage co you are committed to that amount.

We also pay an extra mortgage payment a year. (Although last year was our first year home owning but we did it and plan to continue as long as we can afford too!)

Misha Posted: Jun 30, 2004 10:21 AM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

www.myhomesavings.com sets this up for people at no charge.

Elizabeth Posted: Jun 30, 2004 10:32 AM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

We do it. It does take a month or 2 to get use to with your budget but in the long run, it'll definitely be worth it.

februarybride Posted: Jun 30, 2004 11:13 AM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

We do the same thing... I thought about the bi-weekly but I am so non-commital. I'd rather have the option to not send extra just in case.....

Karen H Posted: Jun 30, 2004 07:41 PM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

Our mortgage company periodically sends us mailings about how they will happily set this up for us for a $300 fee

We just pay an additional amount each month and are on track to have the mortgage paid off in about 16 years. And as has been pointed out, should we ever need to pull back and use the money for something else we have that option. I'm better off doing that than remembering I have to write another check every 2 weeks!

www.bankrate.com has an amortization chart you can fill out where you put in your current remaining mortgage amount and payments remaining, and you can test out different scenarios - one extra payment a year, one big lump sum payment, or regular additional payments of any amount. It will show you how each option will accelerate the pay-off date.

Karen62794 Posted: Jul 06, 2004 08:00 PM

Re: Does anyone pay a bi-weekly mortgage, as seen on Oprah?

Our mortgage company keeps sending us information on this. We might consider it or we might consider just adding another payment at the end of the year.