A 15-year mortgage can make good sense for your situation — and they’re more affordable than ever. If you’re looking at real estate anywhere you should consider this type of mortgage with a shorter payment term.

1. Save more money – Taking out a 15-year mortgage dramatically cuts your home-loan repayment time. The faster you repay the loan, the less in interest you need to pay. This can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the (shorter) life of your loan. A 15-year mortgage also usually offers better interest rates than other loan products.
2. Build more equity – When you repay your mortgage faster, you don’t just save money — you build equity in your home faster too. Combine a shorter mortgage term with rising home prices, and you could exponentially grow the amount of equity you have.This is beneficial for several reasons, especially if you want to refinance the loan down the road. Since you are paying principal faster with a 15-year note you will be building equity faster, making refinancing potentially easier. With a smaller loan-to-value ratio, the risk you present to your lender will be smaller, so you should have more financial opportunities.
3. Reduce pressure on your monthly budget in retirement – Getting a 15-year mortgage might help if you plan to retire in the next 10 to 20 years. Many people want to downsize before they retire, and that means buying a new home. Choosing a 15-year mortgage allows you to reduce the strain on your cash flow in retirement.You can take advantage of stronger cash flow while you’re working to make the bigger monthly payments that a 15-year mortgage requires and pay off the loan before you retire. Then, when you do retire, you won’t have to pull as much out of your savings to cover living expenses since your loan will be gone.
4. Take advantage of the built-in discipline – Instead of considering 15-year mortgages, some people take out a 30-year mortgage and simply accelerate the payments they make on that loan. They get the benefit of saving money on interest but aren’t tied to the higher monthly payment.