Upgrading to a McMansion!
McMansion
Well, my friend that won a house has upgraded from their free townhouse to a McMansion! Actually the house is even on the large side for a McMansion since it’s over 4,000 square feet!
Now both my friend and her husband can’t really afford such a house if it were just their salaries that they had to rely on (I believe it was listed around $350,000 after coming down from the $400,000s) .
So how do they afford it?
They are renting out their townhouse (that they won) for about $1,000 a month! All of this money goes towards the mortgage payment of the new house! From my calculations, they should be able to afford the house with that extra $1,000 going towards their mortgage.
But even better, they only had to take out a $280,000 mortgage since they had enough saved up for a $70,000 dollar down-payment! They had this much because they were able to save their money for the past 5 or so years that they lived in the townhouse!
Not that they need it, but with record low mortgage rates, if they make the normal payment and don’t pay anything extra, they should be able to have the same fun lifestyle that they had before the upgrade! Remember, both of them are in their mid-20s still!
Now for a Few of the McMansion Highlights!
The house has a huge home theater in the basement! The previous owners bought some type of projection unit mounted on the ceiling and it projects to the entire screen wall! The picture is huge, and its high definition! It was quite literally the largest viewing experience I’ve ever seen outside of a movie theater!
a similar home theater layout
The 3 car garage had a heater and the floor was covered with some special rubberized surface! The office in the house was larger than my master bedroom. Wood trim was everywhere, it was a huge house!
I was amazed, do you know anyone who owns a McMansion?
-MR
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Wowwwww!! That is a beautiful house! Good for your friends! And… no I don’t know anyone that owns a McMansion. My daughter’s house is about 3400 sq feet… ( a foreclosure deal) but…it is not that fancy!
Wow, that’s a pretty big house!
My friends house is similar to the one in the picture above, but it’s not exactly the same… The one above is a bit nicer.
How wonderful to be in your mid-twenties, and be handed such a wonderful gift. 🙂
Yeah, it just shows that it pays to try! The original townhouse that she won was from a radio contest, with only so many people applying! She said she filled out 50 postcard to get into the drawning… It’s an amazing story really.
Sounds like a wonderful house, and Kudos to them for saving a sizable downpayment and getting some rental income.
To answer your question, yes I have several friends with McMansions and a few with Mansions. My favorite house that is owned by a friend around 12,000 square feet and ultra fancy 🙂
12,000 Now that is a mansion!
I only have 1 other friend with a larger house, but it’s not much larger (less than 5,000 sq ft.)
It makes me a bit poor sometimes…
The only people I know who live in big houses work so much they are hardly ever home to enjoy them.
My friend telecommutes 3 times a week, so she has it made. Her husband isn’t home near as much! He’s home just long enough to take care of the yardwork…
Reminds me of David Letterman’s interview of Bill Gates and Letterman asks Bill about his new house and how big it is and Bill tries to be evasive – watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8EQPpqcnk (around 6:15)
I remember seeing that video, what an awesome house!
That’s sounds pretty amazing. Have they factored in the difference in utilities? That can account for a few hundred dollars extra a month. They sound like they have had both luck on their side and common sense.
I’m not sure if they factored that in or not. I do know that the real estate tax makes me cringe!
They did get the house at a bargain! The got it as such a great price because they previous owner is going through a divorce, and the downturn in the housing market…
All of my uncles live in super fancy McMansions. It’s nice but I wouldn’t want the responsibility; I have a hard enough time maintaining my 1800 sq ft town house! Besides, I’ve always liked smaller houses, they seem to have more character!
Me too, my house is just a bit over 2,000 sq ft… I couldn’t image living in a 4,000 sq ft house.
Yes, tons. McMansions are legion in this town. We’re not quite at McMansion status and having lived in something close to and not quite that level of ostentatiousness, I realize it’s ridiculous to have that much space and that many rooms. (And utilities and cleaning are a bear.)
I’m very glad that we did the home theater set up in one of our two living rooms rather than getting a separate room just for that.
Sounds like a pretty sweet area to live in!
It’s make for a pretty setting for the most part 🙂
McMansions start around 350K. 🙂
I don’t know anybody that lives in more than 2500-3000 sq. ft. My home is 1750 sq. ft. and feels about right to me, lol. I hope your friend is super happy with their new home and don’t get buried by property taxes. 🙂
It’s a great house in a great neighborhood, but I think they both definitely need to be employeed to pay it off pay it off.
Well, a house that size is definitely not my choice, but I am old and wise! Why do they need so much room? Yes, they had a 70,000 dollar down payment, but that is only 20 percent, just enough to avoid PMI insurance.
Just think, they could have sold the home they won, used that money plus the 70k and bought a nice house free and clear instead of being stuck with a giant mortgage for 30 years.
Hate to say it, but I am not envious at all.
Yeah, if it were me, I would have bought a smaller house maybe a duplex and then lived in half for 5 years first. Then after having an income stream from that unit, plus the townhouse… I would have about a house that is 2,500 to 3,000 sq feet.
Actually, I think her husband isn’t so excited about the big house, and she always claims she bad at math 😉
Warning, I will be writing a post based on this, unless you would rather I didn’t.
Good to hear!
I like to feed off of other’s post and I welcome other to do the same with mine…
You will probably find that I most likely will agree on your response post 🙂
ooh, totally looking forward to this… I will have to add the link to our scheduled Dec 6th post on our “homebuying can be expensive” post
Wow, nice! If it was me, I would buy 2 more condo and rent one more out. 🙂
A big house means big utilities bills, furnishing, and a bunch more. I know a couple who believe in the whole McMansion and they have an awesome house by the river. If you can handle the payment, I’m happy for you.
Not me, that’s my friend…
Yeah, I would do the same (actually I would buy a duplex or triplex..)
Good for your buddy! McMansions in my neck of the woods start at about $600K…so maybe eventually lol but definitely not the next home
Wow, now that’s a house!
I’ll be incredible surprised if I every buy a $300,000 dollar house (in today’s dollar) ever!
For 350k in Ottawa, ON you could buy a 3 bedroom bungalow built 30-40 years ago. Property taxes would be $4000 a year. Maybe I am living in the wrong part of the world!
My friend live in the suburbs of a larger city. But she is also in the mid-west where housing prices are too crazy 🙂
Wow! I want this house and I want it with the same terms as your friends got it: down payment, money from rental income and so on. Meanwhile… I will enjoy living in my one bedroom condo. LOL
Yeah, to me it was a big beautiful house too! The neighborhood is wonderful too!
I look like the country mouse visiting the big city mouse whenever I visit!
That’s incredible that he won a house.
Yeah, it definitely help make this McMansion purchase possible!
Nice house. It must be nice to own a McMansion house. One of the bad things about having a big house is that that’s a lot of cleaning to do. It would be nice if the family would have a maid. By the time you’re done cleaning on one side, it’s probably dirty again after a couple of days.
On the financial perspective, they are doing great if they do not owe as much.
Yes, I would hate to have such a big place to clean too!
My friend’s husband does pretty good with investments!
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Wow. NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Although.. I do find all of that space intimidating. Call me strange and weird but it makes me feel hollow.
Yeah, it’s too big for my taste too.
I was impressed that they decided to rent out their old place though! It’s a good source of income for them!
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