I OWN my home,and have had it paid off for over 10 years now. It is the only house on an island,and I own 13 acres to go with the house.
I lived in the Civil War-era house that was so rotten I could crumble door openings in my hands for maybe 5 years while saving money to buy a used double-wide,get sand hauled in to raise my yard above flood level,and get a septic tank put in.
I eventually found and bought a 2 year old 65x24 3br 2bath double-wide for 13 grand in cash,which included having it moved and set up on my land.
Later,I had a 65x45 Quonset hut set up next to the house,and it has ac,heat,an "office" with a walk in shower and hot water. The rest of the shop is filled with antique cars,parts,and tools.
Another "price" I paid that doesn't show up on the books was having to spend several years driving around 125 miles or so a day round trip to work and back home,while working 12+ hours a day 6 days a week,sometimes 7,to pay cash for all this.
And continuing the same long daily drive for a few years more after getting everything "put together".
BUT.....,now it has been paid off for over 10 years,and I am living rent-free in retirement,and only paying property taxes.
Hell,I even have county water now because I signed up for it when the county first started talking about putting it in,and I guess nobody was paying attention to where my house was located. The truth is I never thought they would put a line in over 200 feet long for just one house,but signed up for it because the county needed "X-amount" of signatures to get federal funding.
Came as a major surprise to me to come home one day and discover the county had ran a water line all the way to my house,and left a note on the door telling me I had "X Amount of days" to pay the fee to get it hooked up.
Surprised me a little more to go into the house and discover my water pump had burnt up and I had no water. I even called in sick the next morning so I could drive up to the courthouse and pay my fees to get the water turned on and to contact a plumber to run the line from the meter to the house and shop.
I have no idea what my house and land is worth today,but I do know I am not going to sell it because I just don't have the energy to move again.
I hope it is worth a lot because when I die,all my stuff,including my house and land,get sold,and half the money goes to Feline Hope,and the other half goes to St.Judes Children's hospital. Can't take it with me,so I might as well spend it on something meaningful to me.