Unless your interest rate changes dramatically with a 15 yr loan, you can still pay off your house in 15 years. Just pay more. And if you hit hard times, you have the flexibility to revert right back to the base payment. I just refinanced to another 30 years, dropped my PMI, and lower my monthly, and I pay $500 extra every month (which I already was doing). Now that my base payment is lower, I may pay off my loan even faster once my student loans are paid off at the end of the year.