Stan Shawn | 604.306.4911 | REALTOR® for Vancouver


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Mortgages 101 - Paying Off Your Mortgage Sooner

How to shorten the length of your mortgage and minimize the cost of borrowing

There are many benefits to shortening your mortgage, and thereby paying less for the cost of borrowing the money. You can free up money for other things in your life – the education of your children, money for your retirement or an emergency fund.

Make more payments. Increase the frequency of your payments. Stan Shawn can recommend an excellent mortgage professional who can show you how you’ll save by paying biweekly or weekly, instead of monthly. Paying more frequently can save you hundreds of dollars in annual interest costs.

Make the largest down payment you can afford. This will substantially reduce the length of time to it takes you to repay the mortgage. If interest rates decrease when it is time to renew your mortgage, consider keeping your payments the same and applying more money to the principal.

Make prepayments or anniversary payments. Most mortgages will allow you to make payments up to 20% of the entire mortgage once a year. This money is applied directly to the principal, saving you money in annual interest costs. Consider using your tax refund or annual bonus for this type of payment.

Make lump sum payments whenever your financial circumstances permit.

Double your payments whenever possible.

Choose a shorter length of time to repay your loan. Stan Shawn can recommend an excellent mortgage professional who can show you how selecting a 20 year amortization period instead of a 25 year amortization period will affect your payments and interest costs. Consider choosing 15 years to repay if possible. Your mortgage payments will be higher but you’ll pay substantially less interest over the course of the loan.

If interest rates have dropped when you renegotiate your next term, keep your mortgage payments the same. More money will go directly to paying down the principal.

What is a Mortgage

Terms and Rates

Mortgage Types

Closing Terms and Costs

Paying Off Your Mortgage Sooner

Types of Homes

Finalizing Your Mortgage

(source: Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals)

Stan Shawn REALTOR® For Vancouver
If you own real estate that you're thinking of selling, call today for a free Market Evaluation with no obligation. In today's competitive real estate market, timing is everything. Many good properties are sold before they are even advertised. Beat other homebuyers to the hottest new homes for sale in Greater Vancouver with Stan’s New Listings Notification. Whether you are buying or selling a home or commercial real estate, hire Stan Shawn and make the best move!
Stan works effectively for his clients by combining sharp negotiating and marketing skills with a thorough knowledge of the real estate market. Because of his caring and pleasant personality, Stan's clients enjoy the process almost as much as the great results he produces on their behalf. It is because of these qualities that most of Stan's past clients have been happy to recommend him to their friends and relatives when they have required the services of a real estate professional.
We invite you to contact Stan as he'd be pleased to assist you with this important transaction. In addition, if you have any general questions about buying or selling real estate in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, do not hesitate to Stan at (604) 306-4911. Date of last site update [ 11/2/18 ]