"Dan Hartung" wrote in message
...
Chia Pet wrote:
I've been watching real estate around me with absolute astonishment.
After
being evicted from our apartment last December because the landlord sold
the
house, we bought a home for $51k and insured it for $75. We did alot of
work
on it to make it nice. But regardless of that, real estate prices have
gone
crazy and we couldn't replace our home with less than $100-125k now,
less
than a year later.

Gosh, what a nightmare it is to have your house double in value while
you just sit there! The horror, the horror.

Deal with your "nightmare" by considering a reappraisal and mortgage
re-fi. (It may be a mite too soon to realize value, but start
discussions with your banker anyway.) You'll soon find that the bank is
delighted to consider you own a goodly greater portion of the home,
because they're only holding the bag for, what, $40K or so of a $100K
home. You now can get a lower rate and home equity financing.

Such a nightmare! Glad I'm not you.

The other night I had a nightmare that my house burnt down and, even
after
hopefully convincing the insurance company we deserve $75k, we had $75k
and
were hopelessly unable to buy a home.

That call to your banker might prove enlightening. The mortgage escrow
may have built-in insurance, to cover the bank's investment. Between the
bank and you you may be technically overinsured. Just find out, this
shouldn't be a blank field in your mind.

A downside is that the mortgage may require you to have adequate
insurance, depending, and if it's inadequate they'll require you to up
it. Just find out.

The good news is I woke up and the house is fine and near a fire hydrant
and
fire house. The bad news is that really is my insurance situation. The
purchase price is the insurance company's weapon against a higher claim
(the
purchase price was abnormally low even then). But replacement even with
a
$25k increase would definitely be impossible now.

Is there a way out of this nightmare???

Sell now, and buy a brick house with the proceeds.

But, but......

Yeah, luck, except I don't see it as an investment. I bought my house to
live in. Hell, my brother 5 months ago shunned my neighborhood because he'd
"never get his money back." (LOL!). I live in "Tech Valley", but I love
living here. I always wanted to live here. I moved here to stay, not to sell
and move. It's my home. So, like Silicon Valley, it goes nuts. Yeah, poor me
since I just want to live here and have a safe home value insured and I want
my taxes to stay reasonable. I don't want to sell and move next door to you!
No, really, I just want to live here. That's why I'm afraid.