Is Paying Off My Mortgage Always the Best Financial Decision?

The financial benefits of paying off your mortgage will depend on the current value of your property. If the price of your property remains relatively constant over time after you sign a mortgage agreement, then the preferable financial decision will be to pay off your mortgage. However, if the price of your property dramatically drops after the mortgage due to a financial crisis or natural disaster, you may consider strategically defaulting on your mortgage and purposefully declining to repay your loan. You should only strategically default in the case that the outstanding owed amount is considerably higher than the current property price, since you will be forfeiting the property. Additionally, you should always consider how failing to repay a loan will have a negative impact on your credit score.