Are you retarded? The mortgage is the loan you ask for to buy the house you can't afford. Then, if you pay it off, the house is yours. Banks don't add 2nd mortgages. The home owner does that. The banks don't get tax money from the home. That's your government doing that. And, if you move before you pay it off you have the equity you built into the home by paying the mortgage. Many home owners do pay off their mortgages and retirement.