So a tiny bit of background, but my parents were always financial disasters, racking up debt, making stupid decisions with their money, etc etc. I'm sure my story isn't unique. My father passed away several years ago, and now my mother makes impulsive, stupid decisions on her own. She is a wonderful, loving lady and a survivor. She had a brain aneurysm 2 years ago, but is recovering well, though she can't completely take care of herself, as she can't drive, and is prone to bouts of getting confused/dizzy at times.
What I am trying to get at is, even though my mother is only 62, I am finding myself in that sticky situation many adult children find themselves in, where I am trying to take care of my own family, while needing to step up my involvement to make sure my mother is ok as well. She currently has a 2 acre property in FL that she can no longer care for. I live in NJ, and have secured a really nice beachfront apartment for her near me, in a low income complex for seniors, that is easily walkable to everything she will need, and all utilities, as well as busing service, are included. She's on board, which is a relief for me, but here is my problem:
Her 2 acres and house in Florida are badly underwater. She has refinanced her house several times to include credit card debts and car payments so she has not built up equity in the 12 years she's lived there. The housing market crash has hit her area hard, because she isn't really close to the beach, and the caliber of renter she would get there is terrible, though it is a popular spot for older people, so maybe that's an option.
She urgently needs to move, as she has had a falling out with her friend and roommate, who left abruptly, and she cannot afford to keep everything going on just her retirement and disability checks. She is planning on walking away from her mortgage. In looking at her situation, I think it actually may not be bad in her case as 1) She can't drive (no car loans in her future) 2) She has no plans to buy a house and 3)She has no credit cards and does not want any. She also needs to save up a cushion for herself, so her former mortgage payments can do that until she settles into her new apt. Do you think this is pretty much the only option we have? Should we try harder to find a renter for her house?
Also, I was thinking it might be nice to find a way to retain a portion of her 2 acres for when property values rise again. Would it be crazy to try and purchase an acre of land to hold on to for future use? From what I read online, it would seem that the bank would want a good chunk of money for us to do that, so my mom couldn't sell me the land for a super bargain or anything. Any experience or thoughts with this? Thanks for helping me sort out the tangled mess! I think things will ultimately be good for her, as I can be more closely involved moving forward, but this is all moving very quickly at the moment and my head is spinning!