I am doing a refi at the moment and I had about 25 years left on my loan. I don't want to start my 30 year clock all over again and there was really little to no advantage to do a 15 or 20 year, but I plan to pay more towards principal on a monthly basis to shorten it from the 30 year.
My question is this, if I use a mortgage calculate and use the loan amount, interest rate and come up a monthly payment based on a 30 year, then I use the same figures BUT I type in a 25 year loan or a 20 year loan and then come up with that monthly amount for each. Is this the SAME as doing a refi based on same numbers and a 30 year loan and then paying the "extra" (difference) in the 30 yr vs 25 yr (or 30 yr vs 20 yr) OR the fact that I am paying ALL that "extra" (difference) into principal, does it shorten the length of the loan even further? Hope this makes sense, as I am not a finance guy, if you couldn't tell.