[Danihan]

Please tell me where my math is off here.

They bought their house for something like $600k and now it's probably worth $1.3M. They pay 20% capital gains taxes on $200k, so $40k, and they lose 3% if they use a broker. That's another $40k, so $80k total. Let's make it an even $100k. So they have $1.2M to throw around after the sale. Subtract $500k to pay off the existing mortgage, that's $700k free and clear.

$700k is a hell of a down-payment, even in the ritziest areas of Marin. They can buy whatever they want.