"That's a Target Run" — Man Says Parents' Mortgage Payment Is Just $287 per Month
Oct. 27 2023, Published 2:05 p.m. ET
You might have grown up with your parents reminding you of "how good you have it," but that's nothing compared to some elderly parents' financial status these days as the rest of us deal with sky-high mortgage rates. This is especially true for one man on TikTok. Adam (@adamjlucas) says in a video that he found out his parents' mortgage is $287 per month.
If you're like me and you've never even seen those numbers as an option in your mortgage rates for a house, then feel free to take a moment to let this sink in. Adam even says in the comments under the video that his parents' mortgage is "a Target run." And for some of us, that may be accurate. Maybe that's why we're all dealing with financial issues and our elderly parents aren't, but that's beside the point, so don't even go there.
A man was shocked to learn that his parents' mortgage is $287.
In his TikTok, Adam explains with shock that he just found out his parents' mortgage. Which is, if you hadn't guessed, exponentially lower than Adam's. It's also lower than mine and I can't fathom having a monthly mortgage amount of less than $300.
"I just found out that my parents' mortgage is $287 and I'm going to throw up," Adam says in the TikTok. "My house is valued at a third of my parents' house. I would like to puke. I would like to throw up. I'm gonna go puke." He then giggles before the video cuts off, so hey, at least he can laugh about it?
It all likely boils down to interest rates when Adam's parents bought their home. Their mortgage payment may instead be a tax payment, however, if their home is paid off. Adam also notes that his own mortgage is "twenty-seven times" as much as his parents' payment.
That would put his at $7,749, though, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Either way, it's clear that Adam pays more for a home that's worth less and it's a wild thing to consider.
Other people shared their older parents' low mortgages.
If you bought a house back in the 1980s, when most of our parents did, the cost of living was lower, houses were more affordable, and interest rates for mortgage loans were much less intimidating.
Even though $287 still seems low, other people commented on Adam's video and said that their parents are in similar positions. Various generations are dealing with very different financial realities.
"My parents: 'our mortgage payment is SO HIGH.' Their payment is literally $487," one person commented.
Another shared, "The fact that our parents' mortgage is less than my electric bill has me questioning how they always acted like we had no money. Like what?!" Honestly, same.
And others compared their own mortgage payments and rent for homes they don't even own.
"My dad's mortgage is $600 on a whole acre with five bedrooms," someone commented. "My apartment is $1,600 for 500 sq. ft. and a centipede infestation."
Another person is in the same unexplainable boat: "My parents' three bed two bath in Oregon is $600. My apartment is $2,000. Same city."
At first, I thought the TikTok creator was being a little dramatic about wanting to throw up after learning about his parents' low mortgage. But after hearing all of this, I kind of do too, to be honest.
