One thing to keep in mind is that St louis is right on the border w/ Illinois so equipment could have easily been purchased or stolen there too.

She would really be resetting her life back to the 20's, and that's tough to do.OTOH, if they have built up a nice fat nest egg and that's getting split, and she has a good paying job that easily qualifies for the new loan, and she's OK with continuing that until she decides what she wants to do with the rest of her life, doing the refi and staying put makes sense.As for your involvement?

We have a few minor issues but nothing that can't be solved easily amongst friends.

How about the standard (easily understood) progression?

Sort of like a trampoline effect when you jumped on them (maybe not quite that bad but it was bad enough that you could easily see the ceiling bounce when you were downstairs in the living room and dining room.

Why pay for something you can do easily.

Therefore, the USA is now renown for undervalued, repossessed and easily renovated properties that may be worth much more if and when they recover.

Also thanks for your comment on REOs if I need more than 20k I can get my hands on 20 more pretty easily if the deal looks right.

Plus a subfloor not flat to spec will cause snap joints to work loose.In addition, carpet can be easily repaired, especially the sandy - peppered patterns.

You should easily be able to insure that property for $400 or less (maybe closer to $300), you don't need full replacement coverage, so do call around.