Just how ‘broke’ were the Obamas?

CHICAGO — The Obamas often say they would still be in debt if not for his best-selling books, which began to swell the couple’s bank account in 2005. In fact, for some period of time, Michelle Obama tells audiences, the couple’s college loan payments cost them more than their monthly mortgage.

As young lawyers, the Obamas pursued nonprofit or public service during much of the 1990s. Obama once said he was so broke when he arrived in Los Angeles for the Democratic National Convention in 2000 that his credit card was rejected when he tried to rent a car.

Public records paint only part of the financial picture. In 1993 they bought a condominium in Hyde Park for $277,500, paying about $111,000 as a down payment.

, according to county real estate records.

They earned a combined household total of slightly more than $240,000 in 2000, according to tax records. In 2005, the family moved into a $1.6 million home.