We have a second mortgage on our home from 10/08. It was designed to be deferred for five years, so we're right in the middle. After the deferral, our monthly payment will be $413.74 for 25 years. The original balance was $51,000. The interest rate is locked at 5.75%.
We didn't want to just let the interest accrue for 5 years, so we asked our broker what the monthly would be on this loan if it was not deferred and if it was stretched over 30 years. He came back to us with a $297.62 monthly payment, and we've been paying that ever since. Our balance is now down to $49,133, since most of that payment goes to paying the accrued interest.
Last week, I was on the phone with the bank, and the agent showed me how instead of doing a bill pay to that mortgage like I was doing, I could put it through as a Transfer and designate that it all goes to principal. I did it as a test, checked today, and sure enough, it was all applied to the principal.
The loan docs state that any payments will always first cover the interest first, and then the principal, but I guess since it's technically deferred, we're in this gray zone, where we can actually attack the principal without first paying the interest.
So....
We've now decided we have $500 a month to put towards this loan. What will save us the most money? Putting the $500 towards the principal, or paying off the accrued interest (around $230) and putting the rest towards the principal? Keep in mind that we only have about 2.5 years left of being in this gray zone, before our monthly payment will have to first be applied to the interest.
Thanks!