Smells a lot like yellow journalism, to me! Scissors ... I can't imagine your Mom being that dumb ... she might have known! How long had she lived there? Don't tell me that she was a Janie-come-lately! But her Mom must have been a long-term fixture in the place if they made her correspondent. They don't do that to someone who moved in last year. Several years ago, in my first church, they'd provisionally closed one congregation of six on the pastoral charge, which was so poor that they needed help from central church funds. They'd promised to re-evaluate the closing later. One woman said she didn't see how they could continue, and when I said that at the meeting she could make a motion about that if she chose, she objected, saying that there was no way that she could do anything like that. When I asked the reason, she said that she'd only lived in that community for fifteen years. Many city folks would have no idea what she meant ... but, having grown up in a rural community, I knew exactly what she meant. Have a lovely weekend, everyone. ole joyful

I've lived in suburban Orange County, California all my life. I'm only 23 and everything has changed since I was a kid. I remember when Huntington Beach still had swamp land full of trees and big oil rigs on it. Now it's full of million dollar town houses ON the swamp land and a few oil rigs that just sit there. Rarely do you ever see one that's actually moving. I just bought my grandma's house that's in one of the still unincorporated cities that most people who have grown up in the area didn't even know existed. Traffic is awful. During random hours of the day it can take me about 10 to 15 minutes to get to work but around regular commute hours it could take 20 to 45 minutes. You learn quick not to use the freeway unless necessary. There are many nature preserves and playgrounds. And I love the fact that I get the ocean breeze even on hot days and I don't have to actually be at the beach.

Teacher always said, 'Show your work.' Here's those two houses. Kind of interesting for me: the Peoria house is on what used to be called 'High Wines Road,' where the Peoria whiskey distillers all lived, which is why the district is crowded with beautiful old homes like this. I look forward to seeing your pictures. The house in Peoria, via Google maps. The house in Muskegon, via Google Maps.

I'm a retired appraiser, but not in Texas. Although, I have lived in and owned property in Texas. My parents moved out to Texas in retirement to live near my brother who was in the Air Force. My brother retired and built an adjacent home on the property my parents had acquired. My parents passed, the home went to my brother and he has moved elsewhere in Texas to be near his grandkids. My DB has already moved. The property is on the currently on the market. It is located in between two Podunk towns near an Air Force base. It is a much nicer property than the average house in the area. They are getting the same song and dance as IlovetoCook from their realtor(s). "It's priced right, we just need to wait for the right buyer." If I had a dollar for every realtor who said that, I'd be rich. They are dealing with ridiculously inept agents, too. I wouldn't tolerate it. Luckily, I didn't get an interest in the house, so it really isn't my problem. I'm watching the train wreck from afar. My brother needs to lower the price. IlovetoCook, You need to finish that bath or tear out the addition. One or the other. Those are your choices. Your only option if you leave it as it is now is to sell to a cash investor. They will low ball you. It's a starter home. Your market is a starter home market or an investor market. The house must be able to pass a VA or FHA inspection. That's the goal. Don't entertain the idea of trying to rent it out. Long distance landlord is an impossible situation. You don't have that kind of expertise. I wouldn't consider selling to buy in this circumstance. Any buyer that can't qualify for FHA isn't worth the risk. They will abandon the property in bad condition. You need to sell. Because you have a loan on the property, you can't finance the sale. The last option is to walk away. If you don't have any equity and don't care about your credit, you can hand the keys to the lender. A short sale is a possibility, too. But, I would try to sell it first even if you have to write a check to make it happen. Give up on trying to make money. That's probably not going to happen. Your realtor should have a handyman that is capable of completing the bath. Get her to ask around. Agents do this sort of service all of the time. There is someone capable of doing the remaining work. Understand you will need to make a couple of trips back to get this done. Make your agent provide you with the MLS listings of all of the closed properties within the County that are either a 2/1, 3/1, 2/2 or 3/2 that have closed in the last 2 years. Throw out the new construction, if there is new construction in the area. Given the small population, the large area and expanded timeframe are necessary. This will give you some idea of your situation. The report will include some very important information such as days on market, average list price and average sales price. Once you have these numbers, you will be able to make an informed decision. If your agent balks at providing you with this information, go to her broker and get it from them. You do have options. Most of them are bad. Get the MLS sales asap.