In the new system, mortgages aren’t supposed to be paid off. “Homebuyers” are supposed to die after making decades of payments with a still substantial balance remaining, leaving the property to the bank to then sell to the next sucker, er umm. “Homeowner”. This is the reason for home equity loans, no-money-down, etc… And now with government bailouts, the banks just can’t lose. Think of it like buying in England and getting a 99-year leasehold from the Queen who actually owns everything. Here we don’t have a Queen, we just have the banks who actually own everything.