Thanks everyone for all the responses. To answer all the questions people had: 1) I own it outright, paid cash for it about eight years ago. I paid cash for all my houses and cars, have never had a loan. But now that I'm married I wanted to get a first house loan so the house can be more substantial for the wife to enjoy. I'm a veteran, so am approved for a VA loan that I've never used yet. I believe they are still no money down loans. We're moving to a more expensive area too that can't be payed for with cash unless you have deep pockets. 2) Do I need to sell it? No. But I wanted to pull the trigger on doing something with it since it's been sitting in limbo with uncertain plans for a few years. But like someone said, real estate is better than money in the bank because it always goes up. 3) How much is it worth? I don't know. The value of it's current condition would be negated IF it gets finished. So the value is an unknown at this time. 4) There is a home upstairs, and downstairs facing the water is a smaller one bedroom apartment. So if it was to be rented, there would be 2 seperate units. There is also a 1 car garage below too. I actually bought the house to store cars, so I had the downstairs apartment converted to a 4 car garage. But once I consolidate all the cars in one place at the new house, then the downstairs can be converted back into an apartment. 5) Donate to family? No. I'm the poorest in my family. There are 7 doctors in my immediate family, and one attorney. They don't need a house. But to your point, the wife and I normally donate. I donate to cat shelters and the wife ships boxes of stuff to her church out of the country for poor families to use. The wife is, without a doubt, going straight to heaven for all of her help to less fortunate people. 6) The house is in New York, about 5 minutes outside of Kingston, an old "big" city that was originated in the late 1600's. 7) Internet and cell service is great here. 8) The house has it's own water well and septic. So no getting ripped off with monthly bills to the town, even if you've never used the water and sewer. 9) The yearly taxes are very low, due to the current condition of the house. But they will naturally go up if the house is renovated. 10) Heat and AC? No A/C. No heat yet, and undecided of proposed heat source. Electric heat is not an option, since New York Electric and Gas (NYSEG) got bought by Blackrock and all the payments go to Spain (our electric bills have tripled since the buyout). The house does have a nice big fireplace though. 11) I had the house gutted and it's ready for remodel. I'm 55 and can do some of the work but have to hire electricians/plumbers. 12) I agree with renting being a headache, but there are also good renters out there too, so it's possible to have a favorable experience renting out. 13) I haven't talked to a lawyer, but did think of putting it in a trust. If that's the case then the plan would be to keep the house long-term. 14) The house was a rental before I owned it. A nice lady rented it to her dirtbag nephew, and after a few months he decided to stop paying rent. When she had the cops kick him out, he took all the copper plumbing with him. 15) The river is a smaller feeder river that feeds into the Hudson River about 1 mile away. The Hudson River then leads right down to the Statue of Liberty and New York City. The property would have a greater value if you could boat from the house to NYC, but there is a small waterfall in between. 16) It would be a good retirement home, it's in a quiet area. But the town would clamp down on any junk A bodies laying around the property. 17) I did consider getting a rehab loan, but don't really like to deal with banks. I'm almost in between jobs right now, so am hoping for a bigger coming job so I could pay cash for the renovation. 18) Since buying the house eight years ago, the value has 5x'd. The next door neighbor had offered that much more to buy it last summer. But I want to make a good decision an not a decision I might regret later in life, so that's why I'm asking all you financial wizards for your expert opinion.
