what are the advantages of paying down my principal balance in a lump sum?

It depends. If you are doing it to qualify for a loan, or to keep your loan under a certain loan to value, or at the conventional loan limit of 417K, you would get better pricing on the loan. Another thought is the tax benefit. Depending on your tax bracket, money is very cheap these days. Can you elaborate on why you want to pay down the loan? Thanks, Mike 610 304 2665

NONE!!! Cash is King.. If you pay down your mortgage, and for some reason you need to pull that cash out, you would need to qualify for a refinance or 2nd mortgage, or sell the home to get your cash.. Plus with interest rates below 4%, there really no incentive to pay down your mortgage.. every financial planner out there will tell you this would be a bad move... keep the $$ in the bank... I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

LMAO!!!...come on...if you don't know then I doubt you actually have the money to do it.

In today's economic environment, it make zero sense to pay down the principal of your mortgage. Mortgage money is cheap. If your monthly cash flow is going down, or will go down, that would be the only reason to pay down/pay off the mortgage.