How to Lower Your Mortgage Payment

Does your mortgage payment stretch your budget too thin each month? Follow these steps to get some relief by attacking each part of your mortgage payment.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. INTEREST
   
   Your first step is to look at the percentage of interest your paying and determine if you can obtain a lower interest rate by refinancing. You will want to consider factors like how much you can lower your rate and how long you plan to stay in the house to determine if this is a good strategy for you.

2. PMI
   
   PMI stands for Private Mortgage Insurance and if you financed your house with less than 20% down, chances are you are paying for this. Once the equity in your house has exceeded 20% through a combination of increasing home value and paying down principal, you will want to petition your lender to have the PMI removed.

3. TAXES
   
   Most homeowners with a mortgage, have property taxes bundled in with their payment. While taxes are usually something you can't do much about, in this environment of falling home values, you may be able to appeal to have the governmental appraisal of your home lowered, thus lowering your property taxes as well.

4. INSURANCE
   
   Homeowners insurance is also something that is commonly bundled into your mortgage payment and since many homeowners aren't used to paying that bill directly, they may be overpaying. Taking some time to shop around for homeowners insurance could help you lower your mortgage payment.

[static404]

on 11/2/2009 Thanks for the mortgage advice.

[NatalieJ]

on 10/6/2009 Great tips. 5*

[askapeach]

on 10/1/2009 Excellent ideas. Thanks for the great detailed information to help us save money!

[lacurcio]

on 6/25/2009 Great tips on lowering a mortgage payment!

[creshanda]

on 6/21/2009 great articl tips, thanks for sharing, 5*