My husband and I owe my mother about K.

We currently live in a home that is unfinished (we bought it that way..) It sits on 3+ acres, the main floor is 1600 sf, the upstairs is approx 1300 sf, the basement is "somewhat" finished and has a higher ceiling than most. We live on the main floor because the 2nd floor is totally unfinished – no insulation, no walls. It is a huge home with loads of potential but we’ve run out of funds to complete it.

We have someone who is interested in coming in and completing the home and our plan is to do this, take out a second mortgage, pay our lender off, then pay my mother. Is this a good thing? We’ve been burned before and we want to be very careful this time around. Does this all sound too risky or a good thing to do consider the circumstances?

Though the home is large, we can only get an appraisal based on a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home. When completed, the value will be raised significantly to a 4-5 bedroom, 3 bath home.

Would it be best to slowly do the work ourselves rather than taking the risk? We live in Ontario so the housing market is much healthier than our southern friends. My husband and I have good secure jobs.

Signed, "Really at a Loss for What to Do"

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