Having lived in a big house in a tony neighborhood myself (not quite up to this one though, I think), Too Funny’s upkeep headaches make me shudder. We also could afford landscaping help, pool repair help, cleaning help, electricians, plumbers, painters, tilers, glaziers, carpenters, and on and on. But there’s a limit. After I flew the gilded cage, my ex-DH had to install a new shake shingle roof. As I recall, he said it cost him $20,000. Augh!

It’s not just the cost, which shivers the cheapskate’s beams, but the endless distraction and hassle of having to ride herd on workmen and maintenance help. Most of these folks need to be supervised. Those who don’t at least need answers to their questions about what you want done and where you want it done. You can’t supervise a staff of workers and go in to your own office every day. This means one spouse needs to stay home from work to keep an eye on what’s going on. LOL! This turns the wife (usually) into a SAHH: a stay-at-home homeowner!

Obviously, Too Funny can afford this on an income in the high 200s. But his wife someday may start to wonder if there’s something better to do with life than deal with a gigantic piece of property, a man who works himself to exhaustion, the politics behind such a man’s career, and their monied, “entitled” kids.

I’ve learned that the key to living in a great upscale neighborhood is not to live in the million-dollar neighborhood, but instead to take up residence in a lesser house directly adjacent to it. Many very fancy areas are bordered by neighborhoods of more modest housing, whose property values are buoyed by the presence of good schools and proximate million-dollar houses, but whose homes require less expensive upkeep and are not taxed oppressively.

My present middle-class neighborhood is the low-rent district to a old-money enclave that starts a block away, centrally located, quiet, and surrounding a beautiful park. At 1,860 square feet, the house can be cleaned by me in a few hours, with no help from a housekeeper; the desert landscaping needs only once-a-month maintenance, and the neighbors are free of snobbery. Because the area was developed before the penchant for gated communities came into being, I can walk or bicycle through a very tony neighborhood, enjoying the expensive ambiance for a fraction of the cost and hassle.

Thank goodness! :-)

If your income is less than 70k ind/145k combined you can deduct the interest.

Would love to hear some helpful tip I have missed, since Im above the income levels but also have a little student loan debt!

Nor am I implying that I am super wealthy or have the world’s most expensive house.

Of course I’d have a beer with you, but only if you give me a tour of the house ;) Now I’m curious as $hit. Email me on the side? j (at) Elite Edge Money (dot) com – let’s meet up.

My responses:

@Philip – Yup, or at least those same people that read this blog ;)
@Nick – Glad you enjoyed! (and glad I found this in my draft inbox from the other month!)
@annonymous – Stealing? haha… ton of jobs you can get to pay that much – just gotta be smart and hard as hell worker ;) And big degrees usually help too – and passion.
@Jake @ NotRichYet – Oh yeah, everything is JACKED UP here in DC area – like to the extreme. You drive out 60 miles and everything gets cut in 1/2, maybe even 2/3 depending on which direction you go (like West Virginia)
@jennydecki – Mmmmm…..liquid assets…. gets me all hot and bothered too!
@Jenna – Oh yeah, forgot about that movie! Good one.
@brooklyn money – Isn’t that depressing? :( I remember looking at a condo for sale there once (upper west side – 1 bedroom) and it was “only” $300k. I was like hot damn! And then took a look at the condo dues – were like $2,000 a month!! incredible. NYC is even more crazy than DC.
@Yana – Very true, good to keep in mind for sure. Although I’d much rather get in financial trouble with a dump than a mansion. There’s only so much damage you can do ;) As long as it was in a safe area, of course.
@Jaime – Are we soul mates? :) That word def. sums it all up for me too “exhausting”. I can see the excitement about it for sure, but I’d be too worried the whole time to enjoy it. Much rather have my sexy studio apt and be free! haha…
@myfinancialobjectives – Yup, I think to most of us it’s not worth it, but the reader def. seems happy and it’s a high priority for him so it still works out just fine :) I’m sure he doesn’t enjoy spending his time blogging all hours of the night like we do! haha…. we all cherish different things.
@Mrs. Money – Cute! I don’t think I’d like a house much bigger than that myself. Our Townhouse drives me crazy!
@Pretty Unfamous – HAH! Is it really? had noooo idea! found it on Flickr ;)
@StackingCash – You guys are good!
@Molly On Money – Do you really have a double-wide? That is AWESOME!!! I told my wife the other day that I could totally live in one, esp if it’s move-able ;) She wasn’t that thrilled, but I bet I could convince her. Perhaps if I find something she can spend a lot of money on w/ everything we’d save!
@Rob Ward – Yup, I want one of those tumbleweed houses! haha… although that may just be a bit wee extreme ;)
@Briana @ GBR – Nice big Catholic? Family! :) You’re much more practical than I am – I don’t think about space for kids unless I actually have one on the way – haha…
@ajc @ 7million7years – Why do you have so many houses? Investments? I couldn’t deal w/ all that management. But I imagine it feels pretty damn good living dream! :) Esp Australia – still on my list to visit one of these days.. good for you bro, you’ve cracked the code!

On the other hand, we have a USD$5 million REAL mansion in Australia, thankfully, also paid for by cash, and land taxes here are paid up front (‘only’ $400,000!). Running costs are similar and add cleaning lady $300 p.w. (2 days). Fortunately garden only cost $60k … I think this guy got ripped off with his ‘exotic’ plants, our grow on 1/2 an inch per year so are considered quite expensive.