How much do I mortgage on a $3 million condo?

You can only deduct the interest on the first million of a mortgage on your first or second residence, so I think that you should consider putting down 67%. However, please consult your tax advisor as every situation is unique, and there are a large number of assumptions behind my suggestion. Among other things your tax advisor may suggest that you put the property in an LLC (if the building will allow it) to improve tax efficiency.

A good mortgage broker should be able to offer a range of suitable products for your rather short time horizon/tax situation. Maybe a 5/1 interest only ARM?

You're probably going to have to go 30% down just to get the loan, so I agree the swing is going to be between that ($900K down) and not taking a mortgage any larger than in deductible. ($2MM down). If you think you're closing in a month, you probably already have a mortgage broker that you like, so he or she can outline how those options will affect you by looking at your entire financial picture -- which we don't have.

In the current loan market, the spreads are pretty much in favor of ARMs. I'm not a big fan of IOs -- and it sounds like you don't need one -- so I'd suggest looking at conventional ARMs, either a 5/1 or a 7/1.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

We can financing up to 75% on loan amounts up to 3M. Our best options are 5/1 or 30 years fixed. But please remember that the 5/1 ARM will adjust after 5 years so if you even have an inkling that you will stay longer then you may consider a longer term. The ARM rates might look appealing what you always have to consider the "what if" factor. sunny_hong@countrywide.com