It can be even more insane than that. Not knowing what I was doing, I bought a house during the sub-prime boom thing (2004). I paid $10k in fees (zero down) for

It can be even more insane than that. Not knowing what I was doing, I bought a house during the sub-prime boom thing (2004). I paid $10k in fees (zero down) for a $400k house with an interest only mortgage because I was able to "finance" the %20 down payment as a home equity loan. Fun times! I remember paying about $1700/mo total in interest payments ($20k/year). I checked Zillow all the time and the house was "making" 50k a year in appreciation just sitting there so it was essentially free. I sold it after 3 years (dec 2007, good timing) and after all the fees I walked away with $130k in cash right before the housing market crash (tax free!). I didn't know what I was doing then either. The people who bought it from me tried to flip it but walked right into the chainsaw of 2008 and had to sell it at a loss. I could have bought it back for even less than I paid for it the first time a year later! Whoever did buy it got a great deal because now 15 years later it's worth $1.3 million and I feel like I should have just kept it. I definitely haven't managed to save $1m in the last 20 years.