Finding Out How Much Someone Paid For a Home

What did nosy people do before the internet?

Well, normally I don’t consider myself to be a nosy person. I would like to think that I’m somebody who normally doesn’t like to pry into things that really aren’t my business, and is able to respect boundaries.  This can apply to many parts of life, including two that are a part of this blog: money and relationships.

That being said, I found myself curious about looking up some financial information on somebody recently. Specifically, I was interested in finding out how much someone paid for a house.

The real eye opener to me was that I did this because I was curious how this person could afford the house he bought.  It was very surprising news that he bought that home, since he has always seemed to be a very frugal person, and I know he has a job that’s a fairly regular corporate middle-manager position.  I don’t think his wife works, so his income is it for them.   Looking this up was not quite trying to keep up with the Joneses, but it was a step in that direction. This despite having the belief – intellectually, anyway – that it doesn’t make sense to try to keep up with the Joneses.

I was curious because I personalized things, and compared his situation to mine.

Do you ever do that? Would you ever do that?

I went on Zillow, and found out the details of the house, learned more about the values of other homes in the neighborhood in which they bought.  It felt “dirty”, but that the same time, this information is freely available, easily accessible with a few clicks, and costs nothing.  Anyone could look up this information about me and the homes I’ve owned.  Maybe this is more normal than I think?

After thinking about this, I’ve landed on the notion that as long as one doesn’t get caught up in competing or comparing, it doesn’t hurt to simply get information to learn about houses and what money can buy.  After all, if it’s all completely publicly available, is it really anything to feel bad about doing?

Or, perhaps I’m rationalizing my surprising behavior.

What Do You Think?

Have you ever found yourself interested in finding out how much a home cost?

Would you ever go to the point of looking up online how somebody paid for a home?

Do you think it’s something that’s sneaky, or no big deal these days?