- advertisement -  Lump sum won't lower mortgage payments  Dear
Dr. Don, The loan balance on my mortgage is $65,926. I have
$10,000 available to pay down the mortgage balance. I want a
lower monthly payment. Should I use the $10,000 to make part of
my monthly payments each month or make a lump sum additional
principal payment to make my monthly mortgage payment go down?
Thanks. -- Laura Loan-Balance  - advertisement -  Dear Laura,
Unless your lender agrees to open up the loan agreement, a lump-
sum payment isn't going to lower your monthly mortgage payment.
Additional principal payments don't lower the mortgage payment.
Instead they reduce the loan balance so more of each monthly
payment goes toward principal repayment instead of interest
expense. The reduced interest expense allows you to pay off your
mortgage sooner.  The amortization schedule on Bankrate's
mortgage calculator can show you how much interest you'll save
by making that lump-sum payment, but you won't have a lower
monthly mortgage payment becau