Pros and Cons of Paying Off a Mortgage Early

Pros and Cons of Paying Off a Mortgage Early

Specialist · Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 29 posts · 21 votes

My two cents on the pros and cons are:

Advantages:

Probably the primary benefit of prepaying a mortgage is personal peace of mind. In addition, borrowers pay less total interest overall when paying off their mortgage early. For example, if an individual borrows $250,000 with a 30-year, fixed-rate 3.5% mortgage, the total interest accumulated over the life of the loan would be about $154,000. Prepayment of this mortgage after ten years would reduce the total interest payout by at least 50%.

Without the burden of a mortgage, the improved cash flow can be a motivating factor to pay early.

Disadvantages:

Paying off a mortgage balance can drain a savings or investment account and require starting over to rebuild them.

Financial advisors explain that lost opportunity costs represent the potential benefits an individual can miss by paying off a mortgage early. The expense of paying off a mortgage early would mean the loss of earned investment gains if the funds remained in an investment account.

With the average interest gains over a decade being about 10% per annum, paying off a 3.5% mortgage would seem like the wrong choice. Prepaying a mortgage may hamper diversifying wealth across various investment types, leaving homeowners vulnerable to drops in real estate values.

It is important to remember that homes are not liquid assets. Therefore, should an emergency arise, homeowners can be at risk if they apply too much wealth to pay off a mortgage.

Finally, mortgage interest is tax-deductible for those who itemize their income taxes. One way to look at this is that low-interest rates become even lower when tax deductions are considered.

I would love to know your thoughts on the subject. Please comment.

1Reply
32 views

2 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Investor · Omaha, NE · Member since 2021 · 244 posts · 163 votes
    3y

    @Urvashi Vasishtha

    That is correct. I personally like to allocate an additional small amount like $25-$50 per month towards principal to reduce the term by a couple years. This small amount doesn't affect the property's balance sheet much but contributes to my personal peace of mind by knowing that principal is being chunked off faster without much downside. 

    You'll see people all across the spectrum with some wanting to pay properties off as early as possible/buying in cash vs people using OPM in all their deals. I believe there should be a balance of the two. 

    ~ Sanat 

  • Real Estate Agent · Bradenton, FL · Member since 2019 · 21 posts · 6 votes
    3y

    I love this because it really puts both side in perspective. 

    One of the many wonderful aspects about real estate it is there are so many different ways to achieve financial freedom. 

    I was just talking to a friend about this the other day, she asked me when I planned to pay off my properties ... I said in 20 years.

    She was shocked since we have many conversations about money and financial freedom so she continued and asked me WHY?!? 

    My response was " why would I pay off a mortgage that someone else is paying off for me while I make positive cash flow and take advantage of tax benefits?" I explained that the additional cash flow I would receive after paying off my property wouldn't be as high of a ROI than I could receive from putting that 90k plus in another property or a few properties. That would also give me some diversification....

    for example (I'm using round numbers to keep it simple) my mortgage is $760 per month I receive $2,000 in rent giving me a $1200 cash flow. Out of that $760 my taxes and insurance is $400. My question to her was "is it worth the 90k it would take to pay off my property to receive an additional $360 a month? Or am I better off finding another property that cashflows more and will increase over time? 

    She still wasn't convinced and that is because for her the security of having a paid off property means more than a higher ROI.... Finances are so personal, It doesn't matter how you choose to invest just that you do.

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.