Five years ago you took out a 30-year mortgage with a quoted interest rate of 6.5% per year compounded semi-annually for $200,000. You decide to make monthly payments.
a) How much interest have you paid over the first 5 years? Now you are able to refinance the mortgage today at a quoted rate of 4.25% per year compounded semi-annually.
b) If you keep your monthly payment the same as in a), how long will it take you to pay off your mortgage?
c) How much interest will you pay over the remaining years of your mortgage now?
d) Instead you decide to make bi-weekly payments (one payment every two weeks) that are exactly half of your monthly payment from part a). How long will it take you to pay off your mortgage?
e) How much interest will you pay over the remaining years of your mortgage now?