involve prepaid interest, are tax-deductible, and can reduce your total mortgage payment. The interest rate on your mortgage typically lowers by 0.25% per point you buy. Current mortgage rates are relatively low. Interest rates rise and fall through the years. Several years ago, interest rates were higher, and it was more expensive to obtain a mortgage. Since these costs have been reduced, it is now easier and less expensive to own a house. Ownership rights and creative freedom. Your decorating and home improvement choices are just that — yours, provided they don’t break building codes or violate homeowners’ association rules. You can paint walls any which way, add fixtures, update or finish your basement, or build a patio or deck. Changing your environment to suit your whims is a freeing aspect of homeownership. A sense of belonging to the community. Homeowners tend to stay in homes for longer than renters and are more likely to grow roots. They might join a neighborhood association, sponsor block parties or National Nights Out, volunteer at a nearby community center, join a school group, or align with a business improvement district. Renters might not do any of those things, particularly if they know their lease is up in a year and they might move.
SAVING MONEY BY PREPAYING YOUR MORTGAGE
It’s a great idea to prepay your mortgage if you can. By doing so, you can reduce the costs incurred together with interest and save thousands of dollars in the long term. To prepay the mortgage means that you pay the amount you owe to the lender before the due term. To do so, it’s important to understand some of the most popular methods of doing this. Some people decide to pay a monthly sum above the mortgage payment. This amount gets applied to the principal (not the interest) and doing so consistently can save you a small fortune in the long run. Another way of reducing interest is through a system of making thirteen payments in a year instead of twelve.
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