How to Save Thousands on your Mortgage

There are tons of hidden costs that go into buying a home. You don’t just have to worry about having enough for the down payment. After the closing costs, maintenance costs, and making your house feel more like a home, you could be out quite a bit of money. Luckily, there are websites like Lower My Bills that can show you how to save on your mortgage.
How does Lower My Bills Work?
The site will give you information specific to your situation so you can make the best decision for you and your family. It will ask questions about your current mortgage, such as when the house was purchased, the remaining balance, and what your current monthly payment is.
Best of all, using Lower My Bills won’t affect your credit score, so you can have peace of mind while figuring out your financial situation.
Here’s how Lower My Bills might help you save on your mortgage:
Your monthly mortgage payment can go down
Refinancing lets you pay off your first mortgage with a new loan. If you refinance while interest rates are low, you can save on those monthly housing expenses. You might end up making payments over a longer period of time, but it will also make your payments more manageable. Putting less money towards housing might free you up to reach other financial goals. It’s up to you if that trade off makes sense for your situation.
You could shorten the length of the loan
You could qualify to change your loan from say a 30-year mortgage to a 20- or 15-year loan. Paying off your loan faster may free you up to focus on other financial goals more quickly.
You can save on interest costs
If you are able to negotiate and pay for a shorter-term loan, you can also save a good chunk of money on the interest. Because you’ll be paying off the loan more quickly, you will save yourself the years of payments that would have just been going toward the interest of the loan and not the principal amount.
You might be able to get rid of mortgage insurance
If you made less than a 20 percent down payment on your home, it’s likely your lender required you to take out private mortgage insurance (PMI). You usually have to keep paying that insurance until you have reached 20 percent equity in your home.
But if your home has increased in value recently, you could refinance using that equity. Once you’ve reached that 20 percent mark, you can let go of those monthly PMI payments that you would have otherwise had to continue paying for several more years.
Is refinancing right for you?
The first step in deciding to refinance is getting the full picture of what it could look like for you. There will be some upfront costs when refinancing, but it will likely save you money over time.