Money is an emotional thing but you need to take your emotions out of the equation.  

This is committing financially and emotionally to an actual real life decision.

So there you have it, the emotional value to you (taxes aside) of having a home mortgage paid off is $226/month.  

Also, I know I shouldn't let my emotions affect my investment decision, these are all very old houses and I can't help but think that every time I turn around I will have to deal with repairs of the roof, flooring, stairs, driveway, furnance, so on and so forth non stop.  

Not emotional - just as an investment.

Life changes sometimes happen and that's when you've got to change into damage-control mode and leave the emotions behind with the sole goal of getting them out asap.

I can only imagine the emotional state of the people that are going through this...... even the people that didn't get flooded are dealing with a lot..... do I still have a job?

All things aside  I want to make the best financial decision and not rely on my emotions. 

But I think RE is a more emotional game for most people (even after mastering how to separate your emotions from the deal) So I think that's the big point that was missed.

She couldn't believe how smooth everything went and when we asked her if she pleased with our service she said yes and became emotional I can't believe how easy this was she said.