I agree with Keith. You need all the help you can get on the legal ramifications of the steps you are about to take. After you have decided which direction to go, I would be happy to assist you in finding the value of your mom's home or yours if you decide to go that route.

Linda

C
You have some very good answer here.
Given that you are looking at retirement, I strongly advise you to consult with a financial planner, a CPA, and an attorney. I am not sure I fully understand all of your problems, but I do know that the ONLY people that should be helping you need to know ALL THE FACTS.

That means...your personal situation, including financial and taxwise, your property's market value, and any other legal issues/tax issues that may come into play.

Dear Cbm,

I'm not sure where you received the information about adding 18-25% to assessed value that simply is not true. I work with many first time home buyers in your price range and truly they are all over the map right now. I could not give you an estimate on your fair market value without seeing the home and actually doing a market analysis. I would be happy to help you, but I would need more detailed information. By the way, you can find me on the CDPE website, as I am a Certified Distressed Property Expert. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to try to answer them for you.

Linda S. Cefalu, Realtor,
Remax Realty 100
ABR, SRES, CDPR
Five Star Agent Award Recipient
as seen in Milwaukee Magazine 2008 & 2009
BNI member in good standing.

The market value is hard to determine with the information you have given. Each area has been effected differently. You have to get an agent to do an analysis to determine estimated value and review the current demand for homes in your area that area. The assessed value is not a good way to determine value, is some markets the assessed value is to low and in others it is to high. After you determine the value, you then should make sure you understand the tax implication because you started renting the property. The issue is something a tax advisor needs to make you aware. In 2007 there was a debt forgiven act for primary residences which foregave the income tax on sales that sold less than the mortage amount. The debt forgiven act does not apply to rentals. So in the mortgage is $100,000 and the property sells for $80,000 there is $20,000 in debt forgiven or income tax needs to be paid on $20,000 of income.

If you do a short sale make sure the person you hire has experience and knowledge of the process. It is a difficult process and need someone to assit you though it. There is a designation called Certified Distressed Property Experts and you can check it out at http://www.cdpenow.com that will identify experts in your area.

Good Luck

Keith Manson
First Weber Group
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Greenfield,Wisconsin

CBM,
I'm so sorry to hear of your complex situation. I would definitely recommend that you have a realtor that is familiar with your area view the home, prepare a market evaluation of what you home realisticallly could sell for in the current market. Make sure you give them all the details regarding your mortgage amount and any other factors that could affect the sale.
Assessed value is just what the municipality uses to collect property taxes. In reality it has no bearing on what the actual market value is. There are so many factors that affect your market value- location, condition, etc. You will also want to make sure that the person you work with is familiar with doing a short-sale, and can help negotiate with your lender should you need to sell for less than is owed.

All the Best to You!

Speak to a local agent to get an idea what your home is worth. It sounds like it would be worthwhile finding an agent with experience in Short Sales - ie: selling home for less than mortgage held on property. Ask manager of local office to refer you to an agent with this experience. Good luck!