Million Dollar Mortgages

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was playing around with the Maryland database and looking up mortgages for my kids’ classmates’ parents. Blown away to find many, many $1-2 MILLION dollar mortgages. Why would anyone take this on? My spouse and I both have stable jobs and hate having a mortgage of several hundred thousand dollars. We live in a smaller (less than $1 million) house inside the Beltway. We know if one of us dies or loses their job, the other will be fine. Shocked at people, some with only ONE parent in the workforce, are taking on these giant debts! And some with kids who will be out of the house and in college in less than a decade. What am I missing?

There is your answer, OP. Larger, more expensive houses -> larger mortgages.

Also, MYOB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our mortgage is around $1m. Our house is worth around $3m. We also have another home in the US that's paid off and worth just under $3m. We could easily pay off the mortgage, but it doesn't make sense to do that since the rate is 2.2% and our money is better off in the investments it's currently in. One kid in college and the other out already.

Not sure if this makes you happier or not. But many people are probably in a similar place.

In My experience, I'd say 50/50. 50 are fiscally sound and could pay off the mortgage. the other 50 are likely stretched thin and living above what they can afford.

[Anonymous]

We have a $2M mortgage on a property worth $4.5.

I'm not sure why you're surprised to see this many high value mortgages in an affluent area?

[Anonymous]

You do realize the fact that you are looking up people’s mortgages says a lot more about you than these people who have the large mortgage.

It should not surprise you that someone living in a 2-3m house would have a 1-2m mortgage.

Our house is worth 4m. It was 2.5m when we bought it. We used to have a 1.7m mortgage but now it is 700k. If I knew you looked this up, I would think you are really odd.

[Anonymous]

Very bizarre but mortgage debt pre 2023 is fantastic debt and could almost be argued as an asset given the risk free rate is much higher than my mortgage.

Why would I ever pay this down quickly? I could pay it off tomorrow but that would be beyond dumb.

Also we make a lot of money, which most in these homes do..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was playing around with the Maryland database and looking up mortgages for my kids’ classmates’ parents. Blown away to find many, many $1-2 MILLION dollar mortgages. Why would anyone take this on? My spouse and I both have stable jobs and hate having a mortgage of several hundred thousand dollars. We live in a smaller (less than $1 million) house inside the Beltway. We know if one of us dies or loses their job, the other will be fine. Shocked at people, some with only ONE parent in the workforce, are taking on these giant debts! And some with kids who will be out of the house and in college in less than a decade. What am I missing?

You're embarrassing yourself and you don't realize it.

People can afford these debts because they make much more or have much more than you. I'm always amazed at people who are so clueless and assume everyone else is at the same place financially.

[Anonymous]

stupid post....million dollar mortgage is a normal thing nowaydays. Have you checked the price of RE in the dc area lately op?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was playing around with the Maryland database and looking up mortgages for my kids’ classmates’ parents. Blown away to find many, many $1-2 MILLION dollar mortgages. Why would anyone take this on? My spouse and I both have stable jobs and hate having a mortgage of several hundred thousand dollars. We live in a smaller (less than $1 million) house inside the Beltway. We know if one of us dies or loses their job, the other will be fine. Shocked at people, some with only ONE parent in the workforce, are taking on these giant debts! And some with kids who will be out of the house and in college in less than a decade. What am I missing?

Did it ever occur to you that some people can afford big mortgages?

[Anonymous]

Many people have much higher incomes and net worth’s than you OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many people have much higher incomes and net worth’s than you OP.

+1.

OP just found out lots of people make a lot more than she does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a mortgage over $1 million that we could easily pay off tomorrow. We prefer to keep our money and invest it given our mortgage interest rate is 2.375%. I assume there are many people like us.

We are just like you.

We own a few properties this way.

No reason to pay them off, we could but we won't

And if something happens to us our grown kids will have enough to pay off everything if they choose to do so.

[Anonymous]

I’m amazed that ppl are taking out million plus mortgages at today’s rate of 6%. I know a good # of families who do this with just one earner. But what do I know about their $$ and financial situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can look up peoples mortgages? I knew about the real property database. It would never occur to me to look up someones debt.

because you are not a psycho.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was playing around with the Maryland database and looking up mortgages for my kids’ classmates’ parents. Blown away to find many, many $1-2 MILLION dollar mortgages. Why would anyone take this on? My spouse and I both have stable jobs and hate having a mortgage of several hundred thousand dollars. We live in a smaller (less than $1 million) house inside the Beltway. We know if one of us dies or loses their job, the other will be fine. Shocked at people, some with only ONE parent in the workforce, are taking on these giant debts! And some with kids who will be out of the house and in college in less than a decade. What am I missing?

What Maryland "database" lets you poke around strangers' mortgages?

[Anonymous]

In Potomac on the big houses my realtor and redfin stats show 40 percent is average down payment. That sounds big.

However, those homes cost 2-5 million so they all have second figure mortgages even with 40 percent down.