Question for those who have a Wells Fargo Home Mortgage

[Aisling]

I don't use Wells Fargo, but thanks to the OP anyway, as I've learned a thing or two. I'm going to try to make an extra payment per month, to be added to the principle, which would equal a full months extra principal payment after 12 months. Ok, it may sound like I don't know what I'm doing, but I think I'm just not explaining myself clearly. Thanks OP!

 

[mamalle]

they also now are charging a $10 fee for a one time payment just to let you know. I now pay by check due to this fee. I didnt opt for the biweekly either due to the fee and Id rather due it that way instead of a extra payment yearly. that just never happens.. if it came out automatically every other week that would..

 

[Laxmom]

I'm not sure why you are being charged but I am not. I just paid my mortgage last week and no $10 charge. I just went to their website and it states "transaction fee - 0" on the page where I enter my payment info. I always make a one time payment. Anybody else?

 

[chipscinderelly]

I would also think that in order to do it on your own you have to pay via check with the payment coupon rather than via online banking (with no payment coupon). We currently use our bank's online bill pay service and I don't think they would apply our payment correctly this way.

 

[canwegosoon]

I have WF and this is what I have done for 5 years.

I pay my mortage payment online using my bank's online checking(Citizen's Bank) Account(I have it set up for years-so I never miss a payment). My mortage is $779.20ish I send in $920 and I write in the memo "Additional balance toward Principal". My account number is up on the face of the check WF acct#XXXXX. I do this 12 times a year

I use no coupon, I have no problems...easy as can be. If for some reason I can only afford my monthly mortage amount(if I was replenishing an emergency fund)...then I send in no extra. I aggree with PP-why pay them a fee to rewrite a mortage that you can do for free. You might want to conside refinancing though-as an option.

 

[hsmamato2]

we have WF,even though we do autopay,they sent a coupon with a box I can check to send in extra principle.......we just got 'sold' to them

 

[hsmamato2]

ok,so I admit,I've never used the extra line on coupon,just a question, if we pay MTG on the 1st of month,at what date is advisable to add extra payment? I do want to start this....

 

[canwegosoon]

ok,so I admit,I've never used the extra line on coupon,just a question, if we pay MTG on the 1st of month,at what date is advisable to add extra payment? I do want to start this....

You can do it in one payment- On the 1st of the Month
May-1000(your regular payment)
June-1400(your regular payment+extra)-Then you must write(on memo line and with coupon-on the line there) Additional amount toward principal.
July-1300(Additional amount toward principal)
August-1000

etc...or you can do this just be sure to denote "Additional amount toward principal"
May-1200
June-1200
July-1200
August-1200

The whole thing with a bi-weekly mortage is that because you are making 26 payment(or 13 months worth of payments) instead of the traditional 12- you are saving money because you are paying off your principal quicker. You can do the same thing on your own by sending in additional money. There are plenty of caculators out there to help you determine how much to pay if you have a specific time in mind-20yrs vs 30 years etc.

My usual goal is to send in 2 extra payments a year(in my 12 monthly payment)...If you send in a 13th payment you must be sure to write Additional Principal payment only-otherwise the bank thinks you are just making the next month's payment early.

 

[hiwaygal]

I pay my WF mortgage through my online checking. I send half my payment every two weeks. As long as the second half gets there before the due date, there is no penalty. I end up making an extra payment each year and they charge me no fee nor do they have access to my account. I did not sign up for anything.

 

[tinaluis]

I pay my WF mortgage through an automatic deduction from my non-WF bank checking account. I called WF and made arrangements for them take an add'l $100 a month to be applied toward principal. It was very easy to do and they said I can change the amount or stop the extra $ at any time as long as I call at least 10 days before the payment is scheduled to be withdrawn.

 

[paladin]

they also now are charging a $10 fee for a one time payment just to let you know. I now pay by check due to this fee.

I haven't been charged anything and that is how I always make my payments. I just went in and checked and it still says $0 for a fee.

 

[thriftypisces]

I haven't been charged anything and that is how I always make my payments. I just went in and checked and it still says $0 for a fee.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the fee applies if you don't get online statements. That is, if you receive a paper bill but choose to pay online.

HTH
Trish

 

[luvdisney99]

This is not a dumb question. Wells Fargo splits your mortgage payment in half and is automatically deducted from your account twice monthly. Rather than making 12 payments in a year's time you're making 13. Your loan is therefore paid off sooner. You'll be amazed as to how much you can actually knock off the length of the loan. As far as saving your interest for a vacation, I'm not quite sure what you mean. With this loan you don't feel your savings until the end of the life of the loan which comes sooner than later. t it

This is budget related, I promise!

I've heard that if you send in 1/2 your payment twice a month instead of your whole payment monthly you save interest. Now, I'd like to save up my interest to use for Disney vacations... (see, Disney budget related )

Has anybody done this with Wells Fargo? How do they react? Did you have to call or write a letter to let them know you were prepaying? I asked once and they said that to prepay I should make my payment at the bank and tell them I'm prepaying. I don't have time to go into the bank twice a month to make my mortgage payment.

any suggestions?

I'm sorry if this sounds like a dumb question, but this is our first mortgage and I'm inexperienced....

Thank you!

 

[misricsmith]

we are about to close on Wed the 30
going thru wells fargo
but it is a fha
will the payments go to wf or to fha
TIA

 

[mamalle]

is that why? I will have to look at it again. I had thought it was because I didnt sign up for automatic deduction is the reason they were charging for the $10 fee.. It just started I think around the 1st of the year..

 

[luvdisney99]

Your loan will be paid to Wells Fargo. One thing I failed to mention is that during the months there are five pay periods/Fridays an additional mortgage payment (half the amount) will be debited from your checking account. This is how one ends up making 13 mortgage payments per year. For the poster who mentioned paying off a mortgage is the last thing one should do, I think it's a very personal decision. Some choose to secure their home first, pay it off, and then focus on paying for college w/o the burden of a mortgage loan.

we are about to close on Wed the 30
going thru wells fargo
but it is a fha
will the payments go to wf or to fha
TIA

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

My brother in law works for Wells Fargo and our Mortgage is with them. We asked him about paying twice a month and recommended we just pay extra monthly if we have it. If for some reason we can't make our payments (if DH was out of work or something) we would be behind 2 payments after just one month. If I remember correctly (it's been 20 yrs since I discussed this with him) our house could go into foreclosure quicker. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Linda

 

[disneymom3]

We have Wells Fargo. I asked about this last year and was told that you have to use their "plan." They charged a fee for this, so I chose not to do it and instead just send extra on my mortgage. So, to answer your question, they would not let us send in half the payment one week and half the payment a couple weeks later. If we did that, they would credit it as an additional principal payment. They said they do not accept "partial" payments so you have to send in at least one payment that is the full amount owed. You can always send extra on top of that. Of course, they'll let you do it if you pay them a processing fee. Hope this makes sense. Just might want to make sure you talk to someone before you go out on your own.

I know that we were told basically the same thing. That first half payment would sit there in our escrow account as "unapplied" until the rest of the payment came in and then it would be applied as a regular payment.

Keep in mind that if you have other debt--ie credit cards or even a car loan, it may be wiser to apply extra money toward those as the interest on them can often be higher and is not tax deductible.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

Thanks for all the advice!



I know that I won't get extra in my monthly budget. I just added in the part about saving for Disney vacations so it would be relevant to the board (per the mods thread last week about OT threads).

I do have one more question though. A lot of you mentioned paying extra with your monthly payment through the paper form. However, I pay all my bills online and when you utilize that there isn't an extra line for additional principal payment. Has anybody tried to pay extra with each payment online and had it applied directly to their principal?

Thanks!

We have a WF mortgage and I pay through my banks bill pay (non WF). I always round up on our mortgage and it goes towards principle.

I have never put a note on the payment stating that is where I want it to go, but that sounds like a good idea!

 

[Laxmom]

Yea, it is a good idea but follow up. I had a loan many years ago with Fifth Third and I sent in extra money with a note on a regular basis and they applied my extra to paying my loan in advance, not principle. They refused to correct it. This was before online banking and being able to track it. I can't even remember how I discovered it. I went and got another loan someplace else and quickly paid them off. I will never do business with them again. (There have been other things over the years also)