Yeah, I would think there is no way someone could get an FHA loan to purchase one of those homes. So I would think a buyer would likely have to pay cash and/or plan on demo'ing the house. I think in "disaster" areas sometimes special programs are offerred to help people rebuild or to entice people to buy what are nearly abandoned properties. I also wonder if many of these people in the affected area had flood insurance and how that (i.e. an insurance settlement) figures into selling the property. Or maybe the sellers are taking what government aid (money) they can get and then are able to sell for dirt cheap.

Thanks for asking. Update: My Dad bought his cute new townhouse to downsize into. Over the next 6 weeks, we helped my Dad completely purge and prepare his house (selling, donating, and moving things to his new house), handle some repairs, carpet cleaning, painting, etc to get it ready to go on the market. The house was outdated early 90's style, but in good repair bc he always fixed things as he went along. There was almost no deferred maintenance; but still a list of things we needed to do to get it ready. We didn't touch her room, but the entire rest of the house was emptying out quickly. The first week of this 6-week process, I printed out the eviction paperwork from the local justice court and brought it over to show the squatter. I explained what was going to happen, the judgement, the sheriff coming, etc. We kept on going with the purging, cleaning, etc. We all live locally, so all the siblings and spouses (8 adults) were stopping by all the time to help, and to reinforce the "move out" message to the squatter. SIL was an especially effective communicator, and squatter finally agreed to move out by Friday of the second week. And she did! We never had to file the eviction papers, but printing them out and showing her what was going to happen made her see that this train was on the move. I told my Dad to change the locks, but it turns out he had never given her a key, just a garage door opener, which he took back, so that was good. Along the way, we did find out some sketchy stuff about her; she has squatted and scammed others before. She tried, but was never able to find out my Dad's new address, my address, or any of my other siblings last names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, etc. She sure tried though! One day I brought a meal over for my Dad and she asked me to email the recipe to her. Another time, she offered to drop something by my sister's house, just give me your address. Those are just 2 examples of many where she tried to get personal info on us. It's pretty easy to get that kind of info online, but she doesn't have a computer, and doesn't seem sharp enough to do that kind of research. With the FIRST showing, my Dad got a full-price offer, and he just closed a couple of weeks ago. I have another thread about all this stupid stuff the realtor told him to do to the house (over $100K worth of updates; so dumb). With moving costs, repairs, cleaning, painting, hiring handy a person to help haul things to charity and dump, minor landscape spruce-up, etc he spent less than $7K vs $100K realtor wanted him to do to make her job easier! Anyway, it's finally over and my Dad is happily settled in his new place. He's on vacation right now, and we are having a big house-warming party for him when he gets back.

darralisa - I think your home is beautiful! And what a great price! Something like that in my area (a golf course community in TN) would go for close to a million! If I were in your area, I would certainly be interested. Yes, having the Master on the 2nd level is not that appealing to the older generation. My husband thinks the Master should be on the main floor. I differ. We have several friends our age (60's) and up into their late 70's who have their Master on the second floor. They say the stairs keep them young and fit. As long as one is able and careful, climbing stairs should not be a problem. Some of our friends have elevator plans, or have them installed for the "just in case", while others have a guest bedroom/bath on the main floor that can be used when the time comes. You would never know there was an elevator unless they pointed it out. It is a closed-in sheet-rocked area with a door that looks like it goes to anything (closet, bedroom, bathroom, etc.) I would definitely show a plan where an elevator could go, and get some pricing. Do nothing more! Agreeing with some others that the fireplace wall could use some attention. Lighten and brighten! Since you are not having to sell, I would also take your home off the market. Do nothing but a little clean-up and eliminate a few decor items. Nothing drastic! This is YOUR home and you should be surrounded by things that you love. ;) I am not wild about the idea of relisting during the holidays, though. Read below for another idea. My husband and I are in a similar situation. We are wanting to move 30 minutes away and build a house in the neighborhood where my husband grew up. It would also be closer to our daughter, her husband and our grandchildren. :) However, we do not have to move. Nor would we necessarily have to sell before building. We had told a few friends and neighbors that we might be moving sometime in the near future. After 13 years in our "new" home, we are no where ready to list a house!!! But low and behold,...a neighbor, that is also a realtor, called us out of the blue and asked if we would be interested in selling. We told her that we had thought about it, but the house was not sale ready. She said not to worry that it would be a one time showing for some clients that were looking for a house in our area. She thought the layout and square footage would be perfect for this family. The neighbor/realtor said not to do a thing to clean-up, change decor, etc. I did clean out our Master closet, but that's about all. Two weeks ago her clients looked at our house two days in a row. The realtor thought they were about to make an offer. They were not planning on having to sell their home. Then the market dropped last week and they decided to talk to their banker/adviser. He advised that they sell their home first. :( Since we are in no hurry, and will not accept a contingency offer, what will be, will be. But that's alright... we are not ready to move just yet. If nothing else, we will probably put our house on a quiet market in the spring. In the meantime, our neighbor/realtor asked for more one time showings should the right client come along. This method is much less stressful than having to have our home show ready at all times. The realtor will call ahead and give a few days heads up. We can go about our normal activities and not worry about whether the house is clean should realtor want to show a home that same day. Also, we will not be having people coming through that are not already qualified buyers for the appraisal price, those that are nosy, or those that the house would not be suitable for. Another plus... the commission to realtor is less if she is the only one involved!

As mentioned above, measure space and I think you may want a settee for its back support vs a bench. Decide on an armless style or not, length, and the color and then start your search. If not shopping in person, be sure to read reviews around comfort and durability