rich (adjective)
1. having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds; wealthy.
The one single thing of which I can be certain about someone who can comfortably afford to make a mortgage payment on a multi-million dollar home – as we must surmise raptor can – is that this person is RICH. Now, admittedly, “rich” is a relative term. Raptor ain’t rich compared to Bill Gates, as he points out. But he’s still rich. If you’re in the top one percent of income earners in the United States – as raptor must be, by definition, in order to afford a multi-million dollar home – then you’re rich. Considering that half the world lives on less than $2 a day, I’d say a pretty good portion of the US citizenry is rich in comparison on a global scale. But even here in the rich US, if you’re earning a few hundred thousand dollars a year, you’re rich. Plain and simple. And nothing to be ashamed of about it either.
Although it does beg a question, raptor. I’ve been assuming all along that you had at least $5 million in liquidity, otherwise you wouldn’t be looking to purchase a home in the $3-$4 million range (I think that’s your range, I can’t recall – correct me if I’m wrong). But your previous post suggests that you don’t have much liquidity, which surprises me. Given that you’re a “working man” and have (by definition) considerable expenses related to your “extended family,” would it not be a better idea to perhaps buy something a bit more “affordable” (I use that term in its most elastic sense), say in the $1.5 million or less range? To each their own, but I would think your life would be a lot less stressful if you didn’t have to worry about making such a huge mortgage payment on a working man’s wage (and I’m assuming that wage is at least north of $300K). But, obviously, you know your situation a few thousand times better than I do. I find it a bit curious, that’s all.
