$200 a month buys you 2.7 years of your life back.
One dinner out. That's what $200 extra a month costs you — and it takes 2.7 years off a 30-year mortgage and saves $133,649 in interest. Then we'll show you why you might want to invest it instead.
Every dollar of extra principal skips all the future interest that dollar would have carried. On a $960,000 loan at 6.75%, adding just $200 a month cuts 2.7 years off a 30-year term and saves roughly $133,649 in interest. $500 a month saves $290,858 and 5.8 years. There is no fee, no penalty on a standard conventional loan, and no application. But — and no mortgage site will tell you this — you should check whether that money belongs in the market instead. Compared honestly (same cash out, same 30-year horizon, both ending with the house paid off), investing $200 a month leaves you about $245,417 while prepaying leaves you about $226,690. Investing edges it by roughly $18,727 — which is close enough to be a coin flip. Above about 7.5% the mortgage wins outright. Both answers are defensible; the right one depends on your rate and your temperament, not on a slogan.
Move the slider. Watch years disappear.
Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, and skips every future dollar of interest that principal would have carried.
Move this. Everything on the page moves with it.
Long-run US equity returns have averaged around 7% real. Past returns are not a promise.
A bonus, an inheritance, an RSU vest. Applied to principal immediately.
5.8 years early. That's 5.8 years with no mortgage payment at all.
$500/mo saves you $294,683 and 5.8 years. There is no fee and no permission needed — just start.
Every extra dollar skips a mountain.
Each slab is a five-year block of the loan, and its thickness is the interest you pay during it. Watch the top of the mountain vanish as you add extra payments — because the years you delete are the ones at the end, and those are pure interest.
Want the month-by-month schedule showing exactly when you'd be free? Adriana will send it.
Illustrative only. Assumes a fixed-rate loan with no prepayment penalty (standard on conventional and government loans; verify on any non-QM product). Extra payments must be applied to principal — tell your servicer explicitly, in writing, or they may simply hold the funds or apply them to the next scheduled payment. Investment comparison uses a constant annual return with no volatility, taxes or fees, which no real portfolio experiences. Not a commitment to lend, and not investment advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Actually — maybe don't prepay.
We are a mortgage brokerage. We are about to spend a whole section explaining why you might be better off not paying us back early. Nobody else will run this comparison for you, because nobody else has a reason to.
Investing comes out $30,691 ahead — which sounds decisive until you notice it is only 5% apart over thirty years, and that the investing path assumes a 7.0% return that is an average, not a promise. Prepaying earns a guaranteed, tax-free 6.75% with no volatility and no bad decade. When the gap is this narrow, the arithmetic stops being the answer and your temperament starts being the answer.
From here to the keys — five steps.
No mystery, no call centre, no "we'll get back to you." Tap any step to see exactly what happens inside it.
Four questions. No credit pull, no sign-up, no obligation.
~60 secondsWhat happensExtra payments must be marked 'apply to principal.' Say it in writing or your servicer may just hold the money.
Same dayWhat happensUnderwritten against real documents — not a soft letter any lender prints.
~24 hoursWhat happensListing agents call Adriana. She picks up. That is worth more than a bid.
Your timelineWhat happensConditions cleared, docs signed, funded. And she tells you when PMI ends.
To the dateWhat happensThree payers. One of them shouldn't have.
Tap any one to see the numbers.
He rounded his payment up and forgot about it. That was the entire strategy.
Over 30 years it became far more than the interest she'd have saved. We told her to do it.
The servicer held the funds in suspense instead of applying them to principal. Nobody told him.
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Milpitas, California · Serving all 58 counties
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A licensed broker who answers her own phone.
"A broker who will tell you no is the only kind whose yes means anything."
Everything people actually ask.
Is there a penalty for paying my mortgage off early?
On standard conventional, FHA and VA loans in California, no. Prepayment penalties were largely eliminated for qualified mortgages. They can still appear on some non-QM and investor products — including certain DSCR loans — so check your note before you assume. If you don't know, ask us and we will read it.
How do I make sure extra payments go to principal?
Tell your servicer explicitly, in writing, that the extra funds are to be applied to principal. This is not a formality. Many servicers will otherwise hold the money in a suspense account or apply it toward your next scheduled payment, which achieves nothing. Then check your statement the following month and confirm the principal balance actually fell.
Is it better to pay extra monthly or make one lump sum?
Earlier is always better, because every dollar of principal removed stops accruing interest immediately. A lump sum today beats the same amount spread over a year. But consistency beats intention — an automatic $300 a month you never think about will usually outperform a lump sum you keep meaning to make.
Should I invest the money instead of prepaying?
Often, arithmetically, yes — and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. Prepaying is a guaranteed, risk-free, tax-free return equal to your mortgage rate. Investing has a higher expected return but no guarantee, real volatility, and taxes. If your rate is 3%, invest. If your rate is 7.5%, prepaying is a very hard, very safe return to beat. In between, it is genuinely a judgement call about risk and temperament, not a maths problem.
Should I pay off the mortgage before maxing my 401k?
Almost never. If your employer matches contributions, that match is an immediate 50–100% return, which no mortgage rate can compete with. Take the full match first. Prepay after that, if you still want to.
Does prepaying lower my monthly payment?
No — and this surprises people. Extra principal shortens the term, it does not reduce the required monthly payment. If you want a lower payment you need a recast (which some servicers offer for a small fee) or a refinance. If you want to be free sooner, prepay.
What is a mortgage recast?
You make a large lump-sum principal payment and the servicer re-amortises the remaining balance over the remaining term — lowering your monthly payment while keeping your rate and your payoff date. It usually costs a few hundred dollars and it is dramatically cheaper than refinancing. Very few borrowers know it exists.
Should I prepay if I have other debt?
No. Pay the highest-rate debt first, always. Credit cards at 24% and personal loans at 14% should be gone long before you send an extra dollar to a 6.75% mortgage. Prepaying a cheap mortgage while carrying an expensive card is the most common ordering mistake in personal finance.
The other eight calculators.
Each one shows you a number the rest leave out.
Get the schedule. Then decide.
Adriana will send your full amortisation — with and without extra payments — alongside the honest investing comparison. If investing wins for you, she'll say so, and she'll still be here when you need the loan.