interest question. which would you take

I'd put all four scenarios in an Excel spreadsheet and play with assumptions about these two things to see how they affect NPV:

1) Expected rate of inflation
2) Expected rate of return on investments

Make sure everything has the same tax basis - ex. if your mortgage interest is tax-deductible then you need to adjust to taxable equivalent.

The drawback to the 15 year is, of course, that by paying off early you are getting a very low ROI. If the stock market takes off at any time during the next 30 years (not 15, but 30) you will not do as well as someone with a 30 year note who invests the monthly amount difference during that 30 years. OTOH, if you don't invest it but will spend that monthly difference on beer then the 15 is better - even a low ROI is better than just blowing the money.

Can you invest the monthly amount you'd save by going with the 10% down @ 3.625% for 10 years to more than offset the additional interest you'd pay in that scenario?

Essentially another way of asking what foshizzle addressed.

Good info. Reading that for future reference had me thinking no way I would trust a wife to invest the difference. A women will always find a way to spend.