[greenyoda]

It's not effectively $10K/month because mortgage interest is tax deductible and the percentage of the cost used for the home office can be deducted as a business expense. Also, he's building equity in his investment which he'll get back when he sells the apartment. Once the mortgage is paid off, he owns the unit and all that's left of the monthly expense is maintenance charges (and real estate tax).

Also, Manhattan is currently a pretty healthy real estate market, so he's likely to make a profit when he sells the apartment. So it's hard to compare this number to a simple rent payment.

[joshuanomed]

Mortgage interest is deductible to a point, it starts to phase out at certain income levels, and if you're in alternative-minimum-tax land it's diminished even more.

R/E tax is also deductible.

We “extracted” enough from sales of two previous apartments to give us close to 65% equity in our current apartment.