I wasn’t taking about that guy, he said he’s underwater.
I was responding to your bullshit about needing to pay off 50%+ for your home to be a positive to your net worth.
“New mortgage” doesn’t matter, as soon as you make the down payment, before you make a single mortgage payment, as long as the house hasn’t decreased in value you have equity and that adds to your net worth.
As long as you can sell and have $1 left over after leins and expenses, it adds to your net worth. It’s the value of the home less any leins, not your equity less any leins when determining what it means to your net worth.