Yes, I know that. House A is our primary residence--that's essential so we can get the tax deduction when we sell that. C isn't an investment property--so I don't know if that advice would work for us. It's a little complicated. Our 18% share is because we refused to take money from MIL's assets when we had huge legal fees when other relatives were stealing from her. We were legally entitled to be repaid for bringing the matter to the court's attention, but as the outlaws had already stolen a quarter of a mil from her, we weren't comfortable taking even a penny of the little she had left for her end care (she had Alzheimer's). The lawyers (ours, MIL's financial guardian, and the out-laws' lawyer) and came up with the solution that they'd put a percentage of the house in our name which we'd get after she died. She did (outlaws never even told us, so we missed the funeral, but that's another post, GRRR). So, long story short--I'm not exactly sure how you would classify that bit of property--we've owned it on paper for a few years, but haven't had use of it, nor income--but we also haven't had any expenses for it's upkeep, either. So it's all a little complicated. Only thing I know, is that we really couldn't afford the money we put out at the time--but we felt we couldn't afford NOT to either, and now my sweet MIL is at peace, and we will finally recoup what we spent to protect her from a bunch of folks who professed to love her with their mouths, while they were shoving their hands into her pockets. But I do appreciate the suggestion and will bring it up when I get to sit down with my accountant. I was sort of thinking that I might want to invest in some sort of property eventually, once we've liquidated all this extra real estate we've found ourselves holding at the moment.

sorry, by "he gets it fixed cheap", I meant that he gets it repaired or replaced for the service fee only. The first time I placed a service contract on a house, many years ago, both water heaters & an air conditioner went out the first year. The homeowner was delighted; water heaters & air conditioners *will* go out, & he got brand new units for under $200 out of his pocket. The service companies have contractors who give them a discount for the volume of business. A service company isn't an insurance company, so you are not indemnified; you don't necessarily get like for like, you get builder grade, but if you prefer, you can get a check from the service company & buy your own replacement, or you can get the contractor to install an upgrade & pay the difference. Service contracts aren't the answer to every prayer, but they fill a gap.

I work for a company that does replacement cost evaluations for insurance companies. These are not appraisals but will affect the amount of insurance coverage. How we rate kitchens is a builders grade kitchen is what you would see in an average american kitchen. If the kitchen has 1 or 2 of the following it is a semi custom. Solid wood cabinets, an island, solid service type of counter, or built in appliance(s). If the kitchen has 3 of these features its custom. There is a designer level that requires certain types of features such as motorized lazy susans, etc. Very rare. There is also a basic level where all you see is a sink in a base, a range and refrigerator and not much else. Changes to the grade of the kitchen will add or subtract 10,000 or more. The replacement cost of a house is often very different than the selling price.

As others have said, I think the term 3/4 bath is obsolete or fast getting there. My theory is that's primarily because bathing patterns have changed and many (most?) people now consider a shower the full equivalent of a bathtub. Then too, showers can be pretty tricked out now and a luxurious spa type shower certainly is a full bathing experience. Anecdotally I've taken a bath literally twice in the past 4 decades, shower person all the way. I don't think my husband has used a bathtub once in the 38 years we've been together. We are remodeling both bathrooms and the only reason I'm leaving a tub in one is the resale factor. Well that and maybe our upcoming grandchild might use it some day ;).