Own Your Home Faster and Cheaper

I was just over on the ING Direct site looking at a table of interest rates while lamenting the pathetically-low return we're getting on our savings and checking accounts over there, when I scrolled down the screen and did a double take.

Currently (as of August 28, 2010), on their Easy Orange 5 year loan, ING Direct is offering a rate of 3.125%, and on their new Easy Orange 10 year loan, the rate is 4%.

Let me say up front that neither my wife nor I own any stock in ING or have any affiliation with them beyond having our accounts there -- we get nothing from new customers or new loans.

We signed up for our Easy Orange 5 year loan back in April and haven't looked back.  The closing costs were comparable to other closing costs on the refinance, perhaps even a bit lower that what I would have expected.  You make a payment every two weeks, and you have to do it electronically through their web site -- if you send a paper check, they sock you with a fee ($15, I believe).  Your payment amount is based on a 30-year repayment schedule (they figure out what you would pay per month over 30 years, and then divide it by two, giving you your every-two-week payment), though the loan is only for 5 or 10 years.

Your rate is locked in for the term of the loan, and at that time, you either owe the remainder of your balance, or else -- for a fee equal to two of your monthly payments -- you can lock your rate in for another term at whatever the going rate at the time is. 

The best part (and part of why I love ING Direct so much), is that they encourage prepayment of your loan and paying your mortgage off sooner rather than later.  Their only prepayment penalty occurs if you pay the loan off within the first year you have it -- after that you're home free. 

Having used the Easy Orange for several months now, I can honestly say this is the nicest loan I've ever tried to exterminate from the face of the Earth.  If I make a payment from another ING Direct account (usually my checking), the payment applies immediately, as in two seconds (literally) after I make it.  I can make extra principal payments at any time (I once made three in one day, just to test the theory).  If you're not a crazy debt-reduction-ninja like my wife and I, you can also set up recurring payments to happen every two weeks so you can just forget about it and let it go on its merry way.

So, as someone who has used the Easy Orange, I think it's a great way to try to obliterate your mortgage.  Go to the ING Direct site, click on "Learn More," then click on Easy Orange, and you'll find some calculators to help you estimate your closing costs and monthly payment.  Compare it to your current loan and rate and see if it's worth it, then start kissing that mortgage goodbye!

If you have any questions or comments, just post them below.