A couple weekends ago the Incolo team took a break from looking at homes and decided to check out some mansions in the Issaquah Highlands. Currently there are 9 active homes in the Issaquah Highlands selling for more than $2 million that have been on the market for an average of 366 days, the average mansion weighs in at 6,450 sqft, 5 bed, and 5 bath. Our subject property that we toured is a beautiful Nantucket inspired home selling for $3.4 million, 7,400 sqft, 5 bed, 5.5 bath. After our tour of the home here are a couple things that I observed from that house:
- The mansion is nestled in a very private and secluded area of the Issaqah Highlands. You’ll have to drive about a 1/4 mile from the “common folk” area to the 2.5 acres of land that the house rests upon.
- When your house is 7,000+ sqft layout is very important. It’s very easy to feel alone and lost in the house. This particular house did a good job of having great flow between the rooms and didn’t give you that “lost” feeling considering it wasn’t even furnished.
- When a house is several million dollars you can afford to be excessive. All appliances are incognito or hidden away, there are 2 dishwashers, 2 staircases, 5 car garage with an additional service garage, and the master walk-in closet has its own washer and dryer!
- So what does it cost to live in a house like this? Lets assume you can put $690,000 (20%) towards a down payment. Leaving you with a $2,760,000 mortgage at a 4.8%, 30 year fixed loan, monthly mortgage would come out to $14,500. Don’t forget about property taxes and home owner insurance which would be another $3,240 a month giving you a hefty monthly bill of $17,740.
- A general rule of thumb is that no more than 30% of your gross monthly income go towards house related debt. Applying this rule to the mansion requires your annual salary to be $709,600! According to Forbe’s Best and Worst paying jobs, you would need 4 Anesthesiologists making around $192,780 each to live in this house!
If you would like to tour some of these homes, Seattle Street of Dreams holds an annual event that showcases multimillion dollar homes in the Seattle area and all proceeds go towards charity. Even though these homes seem out of reach for the average person, I would encourage everyone to at least have a look and appreciate the craftsmanship and detail of these homes. You never know maybe one day you’ll be calling one of these places home!
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