The Mortage Debate: Pay Off or Keep It?

I was recently checking out an article at the UK's Money Magic site about a Commercial Mortgage situation. One article on the site discusses how borrowers can and should pay off their mortgage by keeping their montly payments up.

The article states:

"A lender who is paying £629 per month on a £100,000 mortgage at 5.75 per cent could now pay £30 less at 5.25 per cent "

Many of us here in the US don't deal in Euros, but the concept is the same for the US homeowners. According to Kate Tucker of Charcoal.co.uk, she says a mortgage really dictates when people can retire. Paying off that big financial obligation may seem like sound advice as the article adds that paying off the mortgage frees up money for other things. However, The Monetizer has heard from more than one source that the last thing you want to do is pay your mortgage off.

In my opinion, owning a home is the best investment you can make financially, besides an education. The home mortgage can be refinanced to free up extra money for bills should you hit a real crunch. It provides a nice cushion. Also, with tough economic times right now and home foreclosures hitting people so hard, keeping the mortgage seems to work for the long term. As the economy and real estate selling market improves, the value of your home could shoot up, giving you extra money if you sell. It's a great investment either way. So many will say get rid of that huge bill, but other financial pundits argue it's a good idea to keep it going for investment's sake.

What is your take on having a mortage? Good or bad to keep one?