I think the idea of a SE MA swap is great, too and I appreciate how far our SE friends have been traveling. I hope, however, that we continue to have two swaps- Sp and F- and that one will be "up here" around Boston, AND that our Cape area friends will come this way, despite the drive! Can you see I'm feeling a bit anxious about the group (as fluid as it is) hanging in together? Rationally, my anxiety makes little sense because the reason people come or don't are so varied but even so, sometimes thinking about change is difficult. But I'll be there, no matter what, if I can get there!

cordavamom: "He said as long as the house had power he could do an inspection on the whole house, he'd turn on the water etc. The bank is okay with him doing this. Winter is well over, (it's 77 degrees here today). the bank has made no mention of my son having the home re winterized if the contract falls through -- is this normal?" I can't speak for what is normal with a bank. That said, obviously if the house has power and gas, the electrical and HVAC system can indeed be inspectedand of course, roof structural, which are non-utilities dependent. However, IMO, the HI is a fool to turn on the water....as he is bargaining that there are no problems with the plumbing that could cause property damage. Granted, with a 3 year old home, the chance of that being the case is less than with an older home...however, with a foreclosure, all bets are off as far as the norm...as all too often foreclosed properties are damaged due to owners who want pay-back because of the foreclosure (such as those who were duped by the predatory lenders) or, in a divorce, people can get mighty vindictive. Sometimes the damage is obvioussometimes hidden. We had neighbors who divorced. They had a beautifully upgraded home, very well maintained; the hubby was the original owner of the house brand new, pre-marriage. They split because the wife was having an affair; she continued to live in the house with the children...then had affair guy move in with her. Needless to say, soon to be X was VERY upset...the house went into foreclosure. Wife and affair guy moved out. The bank held an open house through a realtorand we were shocked to see what had been done to the insidedamage everywherethe couple who bought it spent thousands on repairsand he was a contractor..so labor was not an issue. That said, your son needs to make certain that the HI carries errors and omissions insurancethat way, if any damage occurs once the water is turned on, the HI has the financial resources with which to cover it....in addition, your son should make sure that there is some sort of condition in the HI contract where your son cant be held for damages due to the HI turning on the water when he hasnt a clue as to whether of not there is a plumbing problem Last but not least, the water should be on for at least 48 hours prior to inspection, in order to determine if there are any leaks as water somtimes needs a while to circulate before some problems can become evident Last but not least, as you son has no claim to the property, the bank, as the owner/seller would be responsible for any required "winterization", unless your son signed something agreeing otherwise Hope this helps

I am glad you have the possible renter, and someone you know and trust, at that. I have a nurse I know doing a rent-to-own in my old house. With the house across the street in foreclosure and for sale at $69.9K (no typos), I worry that she will walk away from our agreement at $139K. The house across the street is a third smaller and the lot smaller, but with all the vacant properties, bank foreclosures, short sales and a rotten economy, I can imagine her deciding that she can get more house elsewhere if the fall in values in Michigan does not slow. I hope it works out with the renters you have in mind. It sounds like the perfect solution for you. One thing to keep in mind is how much your home appreciated and how much value you added by improving it after you bought it. If you end up renting for three years or longer, you will need to be able to show what improvements you made to the house so that you can offset whatever increase in value the house had since you bought it. With the huge capital gains write-off we now get when selling a house, I would bet that people are not saving the receipts like we used to. If you never expected to rent out your home, your record keeping may not be up to par. If you don't live in a house two of the last five years before selling, though, you lose that capital gains write-off. Then you need the receipts to show your improvements so that you can increase the "basis" you have in the house. Best wishes for a low-stress transition to your new home!

Yes, feedingfrenzy, we toy with that possibility almost daily. Frankly, our largest worry is that if we do move in & then, down the road, everything goes wrong...well, DH is an attorney & we're concerned he may lose his license to practice law. He's also executive management at a financial institution & sits on one of the agencies' Advisory Boards. Being a part of something like that it would make the papers & would likely cost him his job...4 years from retirement. :( Our local counsel says, "If it were me I'd move in. But, I'll NOT advise YOU to move in!" rofl (D@mn attorneys...aren't good for anything!) But, we continue to plan & plot! lol /tricia