It’s based on the mortgage company, maybe 15 or more years ago I had a mortgage with some small, obscure mortgage company that had my loan and they allowed the 24 payments per year, twice monthly. They gave me credit toward 14 days interest on half the amount, and the proceeds going to principal. At the end of the year, I gave them no extra money, I paid no third company, no fee and no software. It didn’t knock off ten years, but there was time knocked off (the other option was a constantly decreasin payment). They even had a biweekly program with 26 payments, no early payoff but each payment was less than half of the normal monthly, if the mortgage was a grand, then it was 400 or 450 every two weeks, the extra payment was calculated in as was the lessened interest.
But of course, the outcome of this story was that little regional bank/mortgage company that had my loan, the very same loan that I loved, the only loan and banker that I could call with questions and get a person in two rings, was…..you guessed it……bought out by someone else after about a year, it was either b of a or countrywide cause every loan I have somehow never starts with them but always seems to end up in their hands. And of course they refused to honor that deal and had nothing similar available and every time I tried to talk to them it took an hour to get someone that has any clue what their job is. I think the next time I get a home loan I may walk into B of A and just start with them, maybe they will sell my loan to someone else, it may sound crazy but it seems the only way I can get away from them is probably to start with them.