… and sometimes it's not.  The category 72 hurricane that blew through Northern California today really did a number on our fence:

Damn, look at that!  A waterfront property!  Our property value just went through the roof!

The half-fence is quite the eyesore, though.

But wait!  Said homeowner has an engineering degree.  I sense ingenuity and brilliance inspiring a clever, elegant solution to the problem at hand!

Ohhhh, riiiiiight… he got his degree from a state school.

So the moral of the story is, if you foresee weaknesses or potential problems with your current house, sell it and let some other schmuck worry about it.