Prepayment Penalty

A charge imposed for paying all or part of the transaction’s principal before the date on which the principal is due, other than a waived, bona fide third-party charge that the lender imposes if the borrower prepays all of the transaction’s principal sooner than 36 months after loan closing.

A prepayment penalty is a fee that some lenders charge if you pay off all or part of your mortgage early. If you have a prepayment penalty, you would have agreed to this when you closed on your home. Not all mortgages have a prepayment penalty.

A fee that a borrower may be required to pay to the lender, in the early years of a mortgage loan, for repaying the loan in full or prepaying a substantial amount to reduce the unpaid principle balance.