Estate size property, will it really grow in value.

Large Estate Properties are so common now that we don't even notice a 6,000 foot, 5 acre property. The presumption was that this was going to grow in value and become even more of an asset. But do large properties really guarantee that?

I remember a elderly woman looking across the street at a large home being built who made the comment, "I remember houses like that being called the haunted mansions during the depression."

It was a startling thought. Could these large estates just be abandon at some time, due to the cost to keep them up and maintain them? We've seen this happen in Houston during the oil bust of the 80's and the latest crash as people just walked away from high mortgages.

So what do you do if you are in one of these places and your job ends or a financial set back happens? I ask the question because a friend just hit this wall last week, his plan is to sell and down size. But what if the economy is such that it won't sell fast enough or at all?

The answer comes back to a plan. One thing to consider is that accountants feel a mortgage is one of the better write offs. So is paying down the value of that property the key? Perhaps refinancing the equity out of that property and investing it in a more liquid asset is the better plan.

Weighing the options is part of being ready for that possible future.