Honestly it would have to be between me going to the poor house and my children starving or being able to survive, to touch a deal like that.

I absolutely agree that no information is better than misinformation but both can send you to the poorhouse very quickly. 

It might have been a great arrangement if she'd have actually paid rent as agreed, so we went further into the poor house as we borrowed money to pay on that house while barely scraping by on our own expenses. 

Poor housing stock. 

Your house will not make you $$....... it will consume it.....if you are lucky it will appreciate and you can make $$ when you sell....or refinance along they way and pull $$ to use in other investments.....but who knows when that is and what the market will be at that time.....could be worth double what you paid for it.... or half...... no one knows for sure.At the current price points for some pretty mediocre/poor houses, I would keep renting....The other decent option is to house hack...... get someone else to pay all/part of your debt.... then its an asset....not purely a liability...... still not gonna be cheap if you stay in CA, but its better than buying at these prices.....

Seems like many people are going to be in the poor house soon, and that will be in demand.

I've seen way too many buildings ruined by poor house hacking renovations.  

It's easier when you realize the homer won't make you rich, but going for it without the requisite knowledge and skills can sure land you in the poor house should the deal go sideways.  

I believe there is a cycle in these communities that has been broken because of poor housing laws.

I just cant think of anything more risky than that to do with the family homestead.I mean if you have after tax money and its not going to put you in the poor house I guess you can risk that.