The time to resell it varies on the cycle of development for that dirt.Land with a slope if more expensive to build on than flat land generally because of leveling and certain slopes require more expensive grading and clearing equipment.The soil condition and makeup is key.

Do you think I need to mess with it, or do you figure since there is a 5-degree temperature difference between my 1st floor and my crawlspace tonight (and a 30 degree difference between the exterior and the crawlspace) that it really doesn't matter much and in fact the two areas should be thought of as readily sharing air and temps?

Accountants can vary in assessing book and market from assets held over time.

@Brant Richardson and @dave krulacI work as a Mortgage Broker with numerous lenders, the answer can vary.

Longview and Kelso can be great places to invest, but property values can vary widely (based mostly on neighborhood and condition), so understand what you are buying and what it will be worth once it is fixed up.

They make a good income, better than a retired nurse, and teacher with a Master's degree (my DH).This will bring their payments down by more than $100 a month, including the taxes, ins., water & trash that i currently pay as the landlord.

Or, for an investor, the cash flow.Get a formal education, degrees in RE, finance, accounting, engineering, construction management are all good for RE, lots of specialties.Probably your next educational hump will be RE financing, know the basic guidelines and understand what your bank will do and why, most Realtors don't get to the why stage, that's important to understand as exceptions to rules are based on the why it is done this way.

Does mortgage payments vary depending on if your investing in a property or living in the home yourself ?

You do need a good accountant, I suggest a degreed accountant not a tax preparer bookkeeper type unless the specialize in construction and RE.

I have a Associates Degree in Business Management and currently working on my Bachelors.