Progress Requires Discipline

Jade Warshaw (0:30)

825-5225. Brittany from New York is on the line. Hey, Brittany, how can John and I help out today?

We're doing good.

Jade Warshaw (0:39)

Awesome, so I just have a quick question. I have about $20,000 saved. I have 34 in debt.

I had a couple contractors come into my home that I own outright and say that it's not structurally sound. And I'm wondering if I should use the $20,000 for a down payment for a mortgage, or if I should use equity on my loan and pay the debt off for the $20,000.

Jade Warshaw (1:08)

Tell me what your goals were. Were you in the market for a house before you found out about your foundation? Or were-

Jade Warshaw (1:15)

I was not. Okay.

Jade Warshaw (1:16)

What's, so the structural damage is so bad that you're thinking there's no way to ever fix this. And even if they do, I won't feel good about it.

Jade Warshaw (1:26)

Yeah, that's pretty much it. But also, it would take almost as much money to fix it as it would to finance.

So what I'm going to look at is putting a new house like right on my land.

Jade Warshaw (1:41)

That's what you want to do. You want to buy, you want to leave this house as it is, build another house on your current land. Did I understand that?

Jade Warshaw (1:49)

Yep.

Jade Warshaw (1:50)

Okay. Tell me the value of what you have. Like how many acres is it? Tell me all that. What's the current house worth?

Jade Warshaw (1:58)

Oh, sure. Right now it's 1.99 acres, so just under two, and the house now is assessed for $72,000.

Jade Warshaw (2:08)

Got you. And it would cost $72,000 to fix it?

Jade Warshaw (2:13)

They basically said that they're really not going to, they're not even comfortable putting windows in. That's what the contractor came for was to change out my windows. It's very old. It was built in 1980

Uh-huh.

Jade Warshaw (2:26)

Wow. Okay, so you leave that property there, it just becomes what, vacant? Or are you going to, like, what's the plan?

No one else is going to buy it?

Jade Warshaw (2:35)

We would demolish it. Yep. We would demolish that, but have the new house right on the land.

Jade Warshaw (2:40)

Okay. And the new house will cost how much?

Jade Warshaw (2:44)

Turnkey, they said $122,000.

Jade Warshaw (2:49)

So I just, I go back to this, and I want to make sure I'm not missing it. I'm looking at John's eyes through the camera, too. I think he's got the same look as me. You're okay with completely walking away from a $72,000 home, that's something you paid for, that's worth $72,000, and just going, you want to know what? I'm done. I'm not going to do anything to salvage this.

Dr. John Delony (3:12)

I'm just starting fresh.

Jade Warshaw (3:14)

I had two contractors come in and look, and they said that it would be about $90,000 to $100,000 to fix everything that was wrong with it. From the foundation, to the windows, to my front door, to the moisture that's being let in.

Dr. John Delony (3:30)

How long have you lived in this house?

Jade Warshaw (3:35)

We've lived in it my whole life, and I'm 31

Jade Warshaw (3:40)

Okay, and what did you buy it for? What did you put into this house?

Jade Warshaw (3:43)

How much money?

Dr. John Delony (3:43)

Did somebody give it to you?

Jade Warshaw (3:44)

Yeah. We got in a car accident. My dad used my settlement to buy the home.

Jade Warshaw (3:52)

Okay, and what did he buy it for since it was your settlement money?

Jade Warshaw (3:55)

He bought it for $25,000.

Jade Warshaw (3:58)

Okay.

Dr. John Delony (3:59)

So the two acres is worth that?

Jade Warshaw (4:03)

Yes.

Dr. John Delony (4:04)

I mean, at least, right? What kind of home? This isn't a judgment question. This is just a reality question.

Jade Warshaw (4:11)

It's a mobile home.

Dr. John Delony (4:12)

Yeah. What kind of home are you going to build for $120,000?

Jade Warshaw (4:18)

So they call it stick-built. It's a modular.

Jade Warshaw (4:22)

So we're trading the mobile home. The mobile home is the one with all the issues, and you're building a modular home instead?

Understood.

Jade Warshaw (4:29)

Yes.

Dr. John Delony (4:30)

Okay.

Jade Warshaw (4:30)

Okay. And let me just ask. The mobile home, since it's mobile, can it be sold to someone else?

Jade Warshaw (4:40)

I never thought of that.

Dr. John Delony (4:41)

Even for scrap?