My take on the appreciation question is that investing for appreciation amounts to speculation, and for that read "gambling".

It is still a gamble but a gamble that usually pays off to those that remember the cycle.

I suppose that is just part of the gamble of the game.

It is an area with over 300 days on sunshine per year, gateway to MANY National/State parks and 40 miles from Gambling or 100 miles to Vegas for fun.

What that means in concrete terms is that you lied about having a job and you committed fraud to qualify for the car loan, which you have just admitted in a public forum attached to a photo (your "Avi") of yours truly sitting on the aforementioned car obtained through fraudulent means.But you've done it to "overcome black suppression," so it's OK.

But a chunk would need to into real estate.From a gambling perspective, the jackpot is big enough its actually a good bet to play.

The biggest gamble in this game is knowing the value of this prime real estate, understanding the cities objectives to convert the blighted area back to what it once was and should become again in the future.

We are still in early assessment and havent really compared places to places.. not quite sure whether cities like Lowell will be a gamble over some saturated markets like Medford / Somerville.... 

However, I foresee two problems with this; The loan could be called once you change title and, if you're mom ever starts binge drinking or gambling, there is no stopping her from writing checks against that HELOC and pulling more money out up to the limit.

The Lottery or many ways of gambling come to mind here.