15-Year Mortgage Loans

The first advantage of a 15-year mortgage is that in 15 years, you own your home completely! But the other big advantage is the savings.

• With a $200,000 home at 4.5 percent interest, you would save nearly $100,000 in interest compared to a 30-year loan because you’re financing the home for a much shorter time period.
• You can often get a lower interest rate for 15-year mortgages than you can for 30-year mortgages, up to a full percent lower.
• You build equity fast. So if you wanted to do a home improvement with a home equity loan that would be easier to do quickly with a 15-year loan.

Unfortunately in order to save money in the long run, your monthly payment will be quite a bit higher. With a $200,000 mortgage, the payment would be closer to $1,000 a month on a 30-year mortgage, but on a 15-year mortgage it bumps up to over $1,500 a month.

You might want a 15-year mortgage if:

• You plan to retire in the next 20 years
• You want to pay off the house and put your money toward something else, like college tuition or a vacation home
• You’re in a hot housing market and you want to maximize profit from a sale later
• You want the peace of mind of knowing your have your home paid for

The process is the same whichever loan term you’re interested in. You can use our calculators to figure out which loan term better fits your budget and goals. In addition, our mortgage specialists will help you think through your financial situation to make sure the larger payment won’t be too difficult.

Our mortgage specialists will walk you through the whole process, but you'll need to provide identification and other documents throughout the application process. To get pre-approved, contact one of our mortgage specialists who can walk you through it — or you can apply online here.