There's no denying that paying off your home loan quickly will help reduce the total amount you spend on interest, but it's not necessarily a bad thing to maintain your mortgage for its full term if you put those additional funds to good use.
Paying off your mortgage early can save you a lot of money in the long run. Even a small extra monthly payment can allow you to own your home sooner. Make sure you have an emergency fund before you put your money toward your loan.
In fact, getting rid of your home loan just one or two years early could potentially save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. But if you're planning to take that approach, you'll need to consider if there's a prepayment penalty, among other possible issues.
While many with an influx of cash might favor investing rather than paying off their mortgage, paying off your mortgage early can actually save you thousands of dollars in the long run and is often a solid financial decision.
If you're like most people, paying off your mortgage and entering retirement debt-free sounds pretty appealing. You should aim to have everything paid off, from student loans to credit card debt, by age 45, O'Leary says. Paying off your mortgage early means foregoing adding more to your investment portfolio today.
Assuming that the average mortgage age in Australia starts somewhere between 25 and 34 years, then to work out the average age to pay off a mortgage in Australia, you just need to add a 25 to a 30-year term. This would make the average age to pay off a mortgage in Australia between 50 and 64 years.
The latest lending indicators from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that the average mortgage size (for owner-occupier dwellings) was $585k in May 2022.
Two-thousand dollars should cover those costs. “The rule of thumb I advise my clients is to keep $1,000 to $2,000 in cash in case banking operations are shut down due to a national emergency or catastrophe,” said Gregory Brinkman, president of Brinkman Financial in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A common rule of thumb is that if you want to leave the workforce at 60, you will need about 15 times the amount you have calculated for your annual after-tax retirement expenses. So if you estimate $60,000 per year, then you will need $900,000.
Con: You may have to pay a prepayment penalty
Potential prepayment penalties are another drawback to consider. Some lenders charge fees if you pay off your loan too early, as it eats into their ability to make a profit. These fees vary, but generally, it's a small percentage of the outstanding loan balance.
Discharging your mortgage
You will most likely have to discharge your mortgage once you've paid off your home loan in full. The procedure of formally removing your lender from your Certificate of Title is known as a discharge. Notifying your lender is usually the first step in discharging your mortgage.
You could make smaller overpayments each month or overpay with a lump sum whenever you have the cash to hand. Either choice should lead to mortgage savings, but they both have their pros and cons. The main advantage of regular monthly overpayments is that it's more predictable.
Because interest is calculated against the principal balance, paying down the principal in less time on your mortgage reduces the interest you'll pay. Even small additional principal payments can help. Here are a few example scenarios with some estimated results for additional payments.
As further Fed rate hikes remain uncertain, organizations like Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association have forecasted declining average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages throughout 2023, continuing into the first quarter of 2024.
A mortgage recast is when you make a lump-sum payment toward the principal balance of your loan. Your lender will then reamortize your mortgage with the new (lower) balance. Your interest rate and term remain the same, but you can lower your monthly payments because your principal went down.
Making additional principal-only payments on your mortgage can reduce the amount of interest you pay and also help you pay your loan off sooner.
End of the mortgage term
Once a mortgage term has ended, any outstanding balance is due immediately. This can leave the homeowner with limited options: sell, remortgage, or face possession action in the courts.
Having large amounts of cash is not illegal, but it can easily lead to trouble. Law enforcement officers can seize the cash and try to keep it by filing a forfeiture action, claiming that the cash is proceeds of illegal activity. And criminal charges for the federal crime of “structuring” are becoming more common.
Most financial experts end up suggesting you need a cash stash equal to six months of expenses: If you need $5,000 to survive every month, save $30,000. Personal finance guru Suze Orman advises an eight-month emergency fund because that's about how long it takes the average person to find a job.
Cash equivalent vehicles include savings, checking and money market accounts, and short-term investments. A general rule of thumb is that cash and cash equivalents should comprise between 2% and 10% of your portfolio.
Australians wanting to be in the country's top 1% for wealth need to have an individual net worth of US$5.5 million ($8.3 million), Knight Frank's 2023 Wealth Report has found.
While the share of Australian households occupied by homeowners without a mortgage has decreased overall since financial year 2001, the value has fluctuated in recent years to sit at 29.5 percent in financial year 2020.
A common rule of thumb is to have at least three months and ideally six months worth of living expenses in your savings at a minimum. This is to ensure you can manage if you were to suddenly be out of a job, if a health problem emerges or a change in personal circumstances occurs.
More than a third (35%) of Australia's 9.8 million fleet of homes are owned with a mortgage, while just under a third (31%) are owned outright, a 2021 census has revealed. Thirty per cent (30%) are rented.