I can’t tell what the consensus is exactly, but I hear many perspectives from piggs which conclude that it is not wise to pay off a house prematurely. The reasoning being that the mortgage,including tax rebate program, is cheaper than one can capitalize money otherwise.

BINGO. It is the cheapest loan form available because the interest is deductible. Because it is secured by hard assets, it is considered low risk and therefore has a low risk premium.

The only caveat is to make sure the balance of assets are not squandered and are instead put into some investment article that yields a higher rate than the tax adjusted cost of the mortgage.