Bi-weekly mortgage payments can be a great option for homeowners. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to a bi-weekly payment plan. Read on to learn more.
Advantages
- Reduce the mortgage term – One of the biggest reasons people choose bi-weekly payments is that it is possible to pay off the mortgage early and reduce interest costs.
- Better budgeting – A bi-weekly payment plan helps to budget the expenses of your mortgage on a lower scale rather than having one large payment due every month. For some, this fits their lifestyle and helps people match the date of their direct deposits or paydays to their payment date. This is also a great way to help ensure timely payments are being made on the mortgage.
- Convenience – An advantage of setting up bi-weekly payments is the “set it & forget it” method with the automated payment option. For example, if you get paid on a Friday, then the payment will be taken out of your account on that same Friday, which will repeat every two weeks. This limits your ability to spend the funds you have set aside for the payment and keeps you on track and on time with your mortgage payments.
Disadvantages
- Fees - One drawback to setting up bi-weekly payments is the potential fee associated with setting up that type of plan, or fees incurred if you overdraw your account.
- Restriction - Usually, bi-weekly payments are a permanent agreement, so you will not be able to flip back and forth to a month-to-month payment plan on a whim. Bi-weekly payments force an extra payment every year.
- Payments made in a bi-weekly plan are not applied as you pay. The funds will still come out of your bank account, but the mortgage servicer will hold the payments until full payment has accumulated and is applied to the loan.
If you want a “set it and forget it” method for paying off your mortgage a little bit early, then a bi-weekly mortgage payment plan could be a good fit for you and your finances. Making a bi-weekly mortgage payment to your mortgage lender is a matter of automation versus self-controlled savings that is set aside. You decide what works best.