Instead of making the usual 12 monthly payments per year, borrowers make 26 twice-monthly payments, each of which is half the size of the regular monthly payments. That adds up to 13 full payments a year. By adding an extra payment each year, the life of the loan is shortened by 6.6 years, making it a 23.4-year loan. And that's what bothers critics of such plans. While cutting mortgage expenses is advantageous, some financial advisers maintain consumers might do better paying off taxable debt and debt with higher interest rates before the family mortgage, where rates have been historically low in recent years.
Biweekly consultants appear to be largely or totally unregulated.
N.Y. Unlike many others, Homerica offers them only at origination, so there are no start-up or administrative fees. Around 20 percent of customers opt for them, according to Bruce Lublin, Homerica president. View headlines 1999 Times Mirror Interzines . Privacy policy .