Not sure I'd want one of my siblings being trustee only to wake up one day and discover the house has been refinanced or sold.

So I imagine that for a newbie like myself, I may have to build a strategy around that since the "big boys" are dominating at the auctions.

Can you imagine your monthly property tax liability being larger than your mortgage?

I cannot imagine justifying paying over a thousand dollars to hear some guy play motivational videos and try and sell more stuff to the crowd.

m=9&y=17&utm_source=HAR%2FMLS+Master+List&utm_campaign=37e6c93251-January+2017+MLS+Release&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5c0a7c027d-37e6c93251-252424337Houston Real Estate Highlights in August, 2017: Hurricane Harvey ended ten consecutive months of positive single-family home sales, as volume plunged 25.4 percent year-over-year with 5,917 units sold;Despite Harvey’s rampage, single-family home sales remain 1.8 percent ahead of the 2016 volume on a year-to-date basis;Total property sales dropped 24.2 percent with 7,077 units sold;Total dollar volume fell 22.2 percent to $2.0 billion;The single-family home median price rose 3.0 percent to $231,700;The single-family home average price increased 2.6 percent to $296,418;Single-family homes months of inventory grew to a 4.4-months supply, but is expected to shrink with strong consumer demand for housing in the wake of Harvey;Townhome/condominium sales dropped 31.4 percent, with the average price down 1.1 percent to $196,230 and the median price up 2.0 percent to $159,000;Leases of single-family homes rose 9.4 percent with average rent unchanged at $1,857;Volume of townhome/condominium leases jumped 17.0 percent with average rent down 2.2 percent to $1,551;HAR continues to encourage anyone who has housing available for temporary occupancy (up to 12 weeks) to please post it on our Harvey Temporary Housing page as soon as possible at www.har.com/temporaryhousing to provide housing to those in need.

It's $1, can't imagine there's much in property taxes for a vacant lot, so I could "enhance" the value of the property that I have for minimal cost.

You need a place to live no matter what, and I can't imagine rents are very cheap in Portland, so you're usually better off at least having the benefits of a little tax writeoff and mortgage paydown while you own, plus being able to paint the walls the colors you want, etc.I'd hang tight if I were you, see if your market goes up a bit more over the next few years (which I personally believe many will, just my professional opinion,) and try to refi and dump your mortgage insurance (assuming you have it) as soon as possible.In the meantime, hang onto your $50,000, keep growing it, and wait for the right deal.

Most adults don't just wake up broke.  

So just imagine my reaction as you read on.....I received the same "warning" from Homeaway as you for a listing that I manage for one of my clients. 

I imagine students from South Forsyth would be transferred there?