You need to check your LOCAL laws for permit requirements. Every municipality is different and you are wasting time asking strangers on the Net. Until you know what your local laws and zoning codes permit, it is again a waste of time to draw up any plans. Investigate modular housing and how your local codes handle these types. Also investigate manufactured (mobile) homes; if your local codes allow, it is the fastest and cheapest housing you can find. Make a ramp to go up to the front door for accessibility, or create room for a chair lift off a front porch. You also need to talk to Social Security or at least start reading their website. When and if your mother becomes disabled, disability might pay her more than SS might. Also, you need to become aware of the Medicaid asset limits and how they would apply to your parents. Most (80%)nursing home residents are there under Medicaid. However, any home health services used prior to failing the 3-ADL definition of disability; e.g., before she becomes disabled from MS, must be paid by the person/family's own funds (Medicare nor Medicaid never pays for home health care except under very limited circumstances). It is a great shame your brother is being so uncooperative. You need to start getting Power of Attorney and a Durable healthcare Power of Attorney on both your mom and dad immediately. Good luck and keep notes! Your brother may very well turn into a problem down the road, and you need to be thoroughly documented on any actions you take on your parents' behalf.

Thanks for the replies. We have a mortage on the home of $50,000, a home equitity loan of $40,000 with an attached line-of-credit for $500,000 which we never touched. The two other loans are fixed at 6.6% but if we use the line-of-credit it will rise depending on the prime rate. I took it in case of emergency. The repairs will cost around $40,000 (if we do them all). Husband is 73, I am 57. He will probably retire next year (although, he doesn't really want to ever retire.)We couldn't afford to stay here if he retires. Everything is so up-in-the-air and it makes me nervous. Not sure how to proceed. I feel we should use cash. Jane

Hi glavinsolo, When you buy your home, do you plan to cash in your MFs in order to achieve a down payment? You don't say what kind they are, but with expected rate of return of 8% I assume that they're equity-based. The expense rate of 0.5% makes me wonder about that, though, as few charge that low. If you plan to liquidate within a couple of years, if the markets go down, you may be an unhappy camper when it comes time to reclaim the investment. On the other hand, if you have the certificates issued, you can take them to a financial institution to use them as collateral for a loan ... ... which will work if your growth rate on the investment is greater than the rate you pay on your mortgage, after allowing for income tax cost and deductibility in each case. That way, you convert that investment from being a short-term one into a longer-term one, which reduces your short-term risk. Be aware, though, that a financial institution will be unwilling to loan you more than 50% (or at most 60%) of the value of the asset. But you carry some risk if you draw near the limit of what they'll allow, for if the value of the asset goes down and slips below double the value of the loan, the lender will want either some cash to reduce the amount of the loan, or some other assets to underwrite the support for the loan. And they'll want it today ... tomorrow at the latest. With regard to the cost of homes, I'm not familiar with the U.S. markets in general, let alone the ones in your area. But some calculate that the tough times in the housing markets are far from over. I think that it would be well for you to carry on some study of what house prices are doing in the area where you prefer to buy. If you buy early, and house prices continue to reduce, you'll be an unhappy camper, then, as well. Mortgage lenders get quite unhappy if the valuation of the house comes rather close to the amount of the mortgage still owing. If the value goes too low, they'll require that you sell it ... at a loss, of course ... ... or they may choose to foreclose, in which case there'd almost surely be more costs if they sell it than if you do. Which could well mean that they'd be notifying you that you owed them the difference between what you owed on the mortgage, plus costs of repossession and sale, less the amount that they sold it for. Not a pleasant scenario. But one that many who accepted those low-rate mortgages a few years ago will be facing. My feeling is that if I wanted to buy a home in the U.S. these days, I'd be keeping my money in my genes (sorry, "jeans") for a while. There are those who claim that I have some frugal chromosomes in my genes, as a matter of fact. As a matter of fact, my daughter is considering buying accomodation in Arizona, these days. Good wishes as you make your plans. ole joyful

It depends on whether her retirement portfolio includes enough non-tax deferred investments (money that isn't in a traditional IRA or 401k) to pay of the principal. If so, it's probaby a reasonable thing t do. But if her regular savings fall more than a little short of 100K, that means she'll have to withdraw enough from the non-Roth 401k or IRA to pay off not only the mortgage balance, but also the income tax owing on the withdrawal., thereby depleting her principal by a lot more than 100K. Even worse, if the withdrawal is sizable, it would no doubt put her into a higher tax bracket for the year the withdrawal is made, So she'll wind up paying a lot more income taxes than she would otherwise, even further depleting her principal. Not good. I'd say wait untill the mortgage balance is low enough that she can comfortably pay it from her regular savings.