Or is that Pang?

You wrote:

"IRC your current house is about the same age as ours is. Would you
invest $50 thousand in it? Granted, if I was handy, which I'm not, a
lot of sweat would go towards the cost. I can't do much, if any, of
the work."

And I missed the query because of some new computer issues that are
too dry to remark on tonight.

So to answer your question, let me say unequivocally yes and no and it
depends. (Are all my bases covered? How about all my asses?)

Yes, I would put that much into my house because first I love my house
and second I think it needs that much money and maybe more* and third
because I may be able to recoup my cost in either equity value or a
capital gains loss to be counted against other taxable items when I
sell this pretty little money pit I call home.

No, first because I just spent enough to get a Volvo on rehabbing my
floors and I'm not satisfied with the results** and second because the
real estate bubble has begun its inevitable swing towards deflation
and third because property values here in Cow Hill pretty much
flat-lined over the duration of the real estate bubble anyway.
Property values here are stagnant mostly on account of nobody wanting
to live in a taown like this. My shining presence apparently is
insufficient lure for potential homebuyers. Go figure.

Maybe, because of those asterisks down below and because I'm still
cogitating on some things I need to do with this place and because the
last job was so unpleasant*** and because a new bathroom sure would be
nice.

*The West wall of the living/dining room most likely needs to be
rebuilt becuse of years of water damage to the framing timbers near
the bottom. Foundation jacking didn't move the windows back to plumb
and that likely means stuff got compressed inside the wall itself --
stuff that wouldn't compress unles it was pretty much rotten. I won't
even approach the topic of the bathrooms.

** The dispute has yet to be settled with the contractor, the
manufacturer, and the supplier. Send lawyers, guns and money.
Actually, I have a lawyer and a gun; money's always nice, though.

*** Ever have a gasoline-powered concrete scarifier running in your
livingroom every day for a month? I have.
--

modom

http://www.koyote.com/users/modom/home.html