No offers will occur until either a sucker of a buyer wanders in, or the owner of the note lowers the price to match the market. The note holder does not want to loose money, and will sit on things (loosing money every day) until it becomes painful enough (or someone bails them out by purchasing the note from them). The problem will then switch to whomever bails them out by purchasing the 'toxic paper' that the note has become. The property may have become damaged in the meantime, further lowering its market value. There is not going to be a simple answer or fix. A lot of people made a lot of money during the run up, but are nowhere to be found now. At least some of them paid a price when their firms collapsed, but others are still begging at the federal trough for someone to 'do something' to save their hides since they are 'to big to fail.' It is not going to be pretty since it looks like we have privatized the gains made and will now socialize the losses (that means we ALL will be paying them).

FmrQuahog, Either you are just a troll or are just skimming my posts. I stated that comps are used and then adjustments are made for items that are not of equal value. Such as condition. Then you come on in the next post stating: "Why should an uncared for home drag down the price of my lovingly maintained and upgraded home" And again, it will not affect your value, as condition is another one of those items that are adjusted when comparing two separate properties. You also state: "I suggested that the value of a home should be calculated by independently appraising it in it's entirety." But at what baseline would the appraiser start at? At some arbitrary, random price? Like others have said, two homes exactly alike, can have two very different market values in two different locations. Everything in the free market is valued this way, rather you want to admit it or not, even your widgets that you make at work. You don't really think that the buyers of your widgets don't compare the attributes and qualities of your product against the competition do you? Sure they do. And after comparing them to the rest of the comparable products on the market at that time, they decide if your asking price is reasonable or not. Same process as valuating your home.

auntiejen wrote: I am curious as to why others who find it "creepy" feel as they do. If anyone would care to share why, I'd be interested in what you have to say. Is it the fact that you'd have a continual reminder of the eventual fate that we all share? Do you believe that there are spirits or "forces" present in a cemetery? Something else? I don't think I can put my finger on it except that it is creepy. I don't like the thought of looking at tombstones. While Cemeteries may be a good neighbour, unfortunately, they are also target of vandalism. For me it has nothing to do with eventual fate. If the question is being asked if it's an affect on home value and there are people who think it is a problem, then it is an issue. There will be people who won't buy a house next to a cemetery just like there are others who won't buy next to a corner store or on a busy street. Everyone has their reasons, most of them personal and how they choose to live their lives.

herbflavor, We bought the place because it was all that we could afford at the time without a mortgage, and the housing crisis of 2008 was still fresh on my mind and I absolutely did not want a mortgage, and still don't. We could have qualified for one but we didn't want one. Our next house will also be paid for in cash but it's going to be our "forever" home and we are projecting that its going to cost 200k. DH owns a business, and now I also own a business. Both our businesses do well. We are not rich. We are middle class. But we will not get a mortgage; we are very debt-averse. -------------------------- homechef59: "I'm going to continue with the wall extension for the refrigerator. You said the refrigerator would be too big and stick out. So, frame the wall with an L-shape into the dining room just far enough to make the refrigerator sit flush with the line of cabinets. Just trying to keep a lid on costs and get you some improvements." That is still moving a load-bearing wall, which costs $3k+, right? -------------------------- scone911: "Given your sketch, and based on instinct and experience, I wouldn't put any more money into this house. It's not worth the hassle, and I don't think you will get it back if there are mass market developers in the area who can undercut you every few years with a new subdivision that has all the bells and whistles. This house is already nickel and diming you, and that's really bad for your finances-- when you are young, you have a golden opportunity to start saving for retirement, so you have the power of compounding working for you. Throwing cash into a money pit house on speculation that it might be worth something someday, if everything breaks just right, is asking for trouble, IMO. Don't take that risk if you don't have to." We own it outright; there is no mortgage or lien or backtax; nothing. Free and clear. "I'd divide the land, if possible, and put a stick built or modular in the new section. Keep the old place as a rental if you can. At least the old house gives you somewhere to live while you build, and a modular can go up fast." We prefer to save up our cash towards our "forever" house instead. Also, we think at this time that what the property really has going for it is the land. If we divided it up it would lose a huge amount of its charm. The house itself has no charm at all; the land has charm. It has trees and wildlife and feels like you're in a forest; it's quite pleasant. "If you can get the land divided and ready to go in the next couple of months, you might (just possibly) be able to move into a new place by Christmas-- and get on with your life." No, because that would require getting a mortgage. We believe debt is something you do when things are more certain, and given the state of the economy and world affairs we are very far away from the kind of comfort level that would draw us to a mortgage. I suppose that wraps up this particular thread. I'll post a new one with a much more accurate to-scale sketch of the kitchen, dining and laundry floorplan so it can be hashed out better. Thanks again everyone! This was very insightful and educational.