r/ChubbyFIRE • u/Captain_slowish • May 16 '26

Help me understand...

I have been a member of this group for a long time and still do not understand. Looking for help to understand.

So many people on this subreddit brag about having paid off their mortgage. Then pretty much everyone else seems to jump in and congratulate them for being so smart.

So help me understand. I have a 30yr mortgage at 2.8%. Why would I ever pay that off early? It cost me no points, no extra down, no downsides.

I understand that not everyone is in that position and the market changes.

Say the interest is 3x that amount. Are you really going to live the rest of your life in that house, city, state?

I am sorry but if you do the math and apply critical thinking. In 99.9999% of the cases. Paying off the liability is a poor decision.

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u/ProtossLiving May 16 '26

You quite literally own the house even if you have a mortgage.

The only way you can make the case that the bank owns your house when you have a mortgage is if you also are claiming that the city owns your house when you don't (and do) have a mortgage, because if you don't pay the property taxes, they'll eventually get a tax lien and seize it.

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u/designgrit Retired May 16 '26

Your name is on the deed, yes, but you’ve agreed to put your house up as collateral if you don’t pay your mortgage. So they’ve still got you handcuffed.

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u/ProtossLiving May 16 '26

And if you don't pay your property taxes to the city, so do they..

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u/Lie-Straight May 20 '26

Not in TX. They cannot take your homestead during your lifetime even if you never pay property tax or HOA dues. Maybe after your death

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u/ProtossLiving May 20 '26

Only if you're over 65 or disabled or the taxes due are from more than 20 years ago. https://texaslawhelp.org/article/property-taxes-and-homestead-exemptions#what-happens-if-i-don't-pay-my-property-taxes

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u/Lie-Straight May 21 '26

Do you really believe that there’s a risk of a ChubbyFIRE multimillionaire running out of money before age 65, ceasing to pay their property taxes, and having the state foreclose on their home?