Yes you pay the loan back, just like you would have to save money back up if you spent it directly, if you wanted to get back to the same level of wealth. If y

Yes you pay the loan back, just like you would have to save money back up if you spent it directly, if you wanted to get back to the same level of wealth. If you spend money, the opportunity cost is whatever else you might have done with that money in the meantime. If you just take a loan out against the value of an asset you have, the opportunity cost is only the low cost of the collateralized loan, because you continue to own the asset and benefit from all its appreciation. AND you don't have to pay taxes on the capital gain because you haven't sold the underlying asset. I strongly recommend looking into this at whatever depth is necessary until it clicks. This is one of the main differences in mental paradigm between people who become extremely rich and people who don't. It might be counterintuitive at first, but it's a really important, beneficial principle!