Reply #58: We have several generations in our manse [View All]

[MADem]

It is a great old house, and it is the family headquarters, and there is enough room for everyone to go into a fair sized room and close a door. How much more privacy could one want? Many cooks, many helpers, and all contribute--sort of like a commune, but there's no dealing with the odd habits of a stranger; instead, you deal with the odd habits of family! Beats being at sea, unless you are the skipper!

Your friend needs to take some legal steps--file for divorce, go for arbitration, put the house on the market, and get OUT. The longer she waits, the more the bubble deflates the price of her asset. She is stuck splitting it with the guy, if his name is on the joint, and that will teach her--some lessons are just hard learned, and it is just money (the way the dollar is weakening, it ain't quite like the Iraqi toilet paper dinar, but it ain't high art either!).

If your bonus room is insulated, and has a bathroom nearby, it just may be the ticket, if not for your friend, but even for yourselves if you need an extra source of income in these uncertain times. Slap in a mother in law style kitchenette, and you have rental property!!! If you go that route, a word of advice: rent UP FRONT, to avoid the wagon and the whispers late at night, one step ahead of the landlord!