How one homeowner is paying off his mortgage in just eight years

While many homeowners prefer the safety and comfort of the lower monthly payments that come with long mortgage terms, like a 30-year loan, others opt for shorter-term loans that allow them to get rid of their mortgage faster.

Mark Hayes, a 43-year-old  Atlanta, Georgia resident, fell into the latter category.

"I know many people prefer to invest their money and continue making monthly payments for 30 years, but that's just the opposite of what I wanted," says Hayes. "If I managed to pay my mortgage off in 10 years or less, I figured I would save tens of thousands of dollars on interest payments."

The savings alone was enough to convince him to evaluate his finances and work on being mortgage-free as quickly as possible.

Here's how Hayes intends to be mortgage-free in just eight years…

Buying a Home He Can Comfortably Afford

Hayes, who works as a registered nurse at a local hospital in Atlanta, was smart about his home purchase from the start.

He found a very affordable two-bedroom, one-bathroom, 1,208-square-foot home on sale for $103,000 in the city of Atlanta. The house also had a large garage, a sizable backyard and a bonus room that Hayes eventually converted into a home office.

Plus, the mid-century ranch came with a newly-renovated kitchen, a wood-burning fireplace and new hardwood floors. The renovations were a key appeal for Hayes.

"That might not seem important, but it told me I wouldn't have to spend extra money on renovations if I bought that house and could concentrate on just paying it off," Hayes says.

So, in January 2008, after finding a home that was within his budget, Hayes put $21,000 down and signed on for an $82,000, 15-year fixed mortgage with a 5.32 percent interest rate. He paid for the closing costs - which were close to $4,000 - with money from his own savings account.

[Are you shopping around for a mortgage? Click to compare interest rates from lenders now.]

And because his down payment was over 20 percent of the cost of the house, he didn't have to get mortgage insurance, which saved him from having to pay additional money every month.

"My grandfather had recently passed away and left me some money," Hayes says. "I combined that with some savings to make the down payment."

In total, his monthly payments, which included property taxes, totaled $705.12. However, from the get-go, Hayes decided to pay $1,000 towards his mortgage instead.

"Before I bought the house, I was renting and paying $995 a month, so I just decided to keep paying a similar amount, but towards my own house," Hayes says. "I figured it made sense to pay the same but own the home, rather than giving the money away to somebody else."

Refinancing to Reduce His Rate by 2 Percent

Four years after he took out his loan, in January 2012, Hayes decided to refinance his mortgage in order to take advantage of lower interest rates.

At the time, his remaining loan balance was $70,000. Before he refinanced, however, he decided to sell a few possessions in order to come up with a large lump sum payment to put towards his balance.

"I sold my sort-of-new car, which was worth close to $10,000, and bought an older $2,000 model that ran perfectly fine," Hayes says. He also decided to auction off an old collection of comic books and made $2,500 in the process.

With the gains he made from selling these items, he was able to put an additional $10,000 down towards the mortgage balance.

As a result, when Hayes refinanced, his new loan was just $60,000. Paired with his new mortgage terms - a 15-year fixed mortgage with a 3.28 percent interest rate, Hayes couldn't be happier.

[Do you want to refinance and lower your interest rate? Click to compare rates from lenders now.]

"My lender gave me a break on the closing costs, which ended up being just over $2,000, and I paid that from my own pocket," Hayes adds.

The refinance lowered his payments by $226, down to $479.48 per month. But even with the interest and payment reduction, Hayes remained intent on paying down his mortgage fast.

"I still paid the same $1,000 a month towards the mortgage," Hayes says. That means Hayes was paying more than double what was required towards his mortgage each month.

Cutting Costs, Selling Items, and Paying Extra Whenever He Can

After his refinance, Hayes got into the habit of raiding his own garage and selling things on eBay.

"I got rid of old action figure collections, musical instruments and even a first edition of a book I'd never read," Hayes says. Some of those things brought in more money than he expected - like his old clarinet, which he sold for $400.

"The action figure collection was my biggest sell, though, for almost $3,000," Hayes says. "Who knew they had so much value?"

The profits, of course, are put towards his mortgage - on top of the $1,000 that he normally pays.

When he ran out of things to sell from his garage, Hayes started visiting flea markets on the weekends to buy things that he could resell for a profit online. "I never know how much money I'll make, so it's sometimes an extra $500 a month and sometimes a lot less," Hayes says.

In May 2013, he struck gold when he found an antique coin bank that he bought for $100 and sold online for $945. "All that money went towards my mortgage as well," Hayes says.

Thanks to his extra payments, Hayes says he expects to finish paying off his mortgage by 2016 - just eight years after he took out his original loan.

"I've become a master at living on less and saving up money," Hayes says. "I realize this is not the perfect solution for everybody, but this is what I want and I'm looking forward to owning my home completely."