Margin loans for house purchases isn't as insane as it might sound - assuming your financials are there. Margin interest is deductible against investment gains, house interest may not be for many earners.
But not refinancing afterwards into a low fixed rate may come back to bite them, and soon.
>> Margin loans for house purchases isn't as insane as it might sound
I understand the tax logic you are speaking about, but I think tax benefits are sometimes oversold to convince people to buy things (like homes and investments). You aren't a corporation, your liability isn't limited. Trying to shave a bit off taxes may have less benefit to you than the peace of mind of not having to juggle debt. You seem like you understand that when you talk about refinancing asap, so I think you know what you are talking about as well.
In the typical scenario, I could have sold my stocks and incurred a 20-39% tax on the gains.
The other option was to instead take a margin loan out at a hair over 1% blended which is tax deductible and incur no tax bill.
There was a bit of risk in this yes, but I came out way ahead despite there being a pretty sharp pullback right after I closed on my house. I wasn't leveraged to the hilt at all, I think I had a loan equivalent to about 25,maybe 30% of my portfolio when the market pulled back.
If you have significant assets this is something you should be considering. This is imho one of those "rich guy" things that's available at a relatively low level of wealth, and the risk associated with it is well worth it in most cases.
But not refinancing afterwards into a low fixed rate may come back to bite them, and soon.