When extra mortgage payments matter most
Extra principal can have its biggest impact when the remaining balance is high and many years of interest are still ahead.
That is why payoff examples can be useful even before deciding whether to recast, refinance, or simply keep the existing loan.
How the extra payment and term shape this example
An extra payment this large is worth comparing against other goals, since the same money could also go toward investing or other debt.
A 20-year baseline sits between the two extremes, so the dollar impact of extra payments here is typically more than a 15-year loan but less than a 30-year loan.