While you're right in some regard, I'd say the speculators were just the tools on which banks built their toxic balance sheets.Here are the 5 pieces of the housing bubble machine:United States GovernmentBill Clinton rewrites community reinvestment act in 1995 basically making mortgages available to most borrowersFinancial Institutions Originating NINJA Loans like crazy to repackage into mortgage backed securities (MBS) and sell to investorsESPECIALLY SUB PRIME MORTGAGES which generate the best yield Banks sold these off of balance sheet within 30 days of origination so as to never experience the penalty of booking a high risk loan (no collections expense and no charge off)Federal ReservePinned interest rates at zero bound to help recover from internet bubbleCreated a lot of leverage in capital markets to buy MBSIncentives for consumers to spend on housing and HELOCsHedge Funds buying Mortgage Backed SecuritiesHedge funds looking for yield had a great demand for MBS, especially on subprime debt (nobody defaults on mortgages, right?)

Yes, frugality, minimalism or focusing on things that actually matter in life unlike material things are the signs of someone bound to be successful.

A loose estimate (however not confirmed ) would be around $30-$40,000 to renovate the home and put in on the market for a buyer. 

However I'm not sure what to do with all the loose fill insulation in the attic.

LOLQuick fact 2 - the word 'mortgage' is derived from the word 'muerte' which loosely translates to 'til death'.  

It doesn't have to be 'like kind' and you are not bound by the timeline unlike with 10131 exchanges. 

Ben, I have doing this long enough to know that long distance investors will eventually loose owning cheap homes.  

If that's the case,  you have locked in a low property tax base, and a fantastic (high paying, easy to find, easy to manage, etc.) tenant profile, which I would not want to loose.

The best option is to demolish the whole place and start over.The condition of the house (which is a term I used loosely here) is our questionable part of this deal.

If you agree to this representation, you will be bound by the contract you sign with the agent.