A friend of mine

[Sunlei]

11. pay off the loans.

Saves all those future interest payments.

Buy his smaller home (prices are low now) and lease it out for a year or so, use a good property management service to manage the lease. Instant income that's a lot higher than if the money sits in a basic CD or savings account.

Make the home improvements needed to fix the large home, hire a yard service. Those costs will reduce the tax on the profits he makes when he sells the home. Best yet keep the big home as a rental when ready to move to the smaller place.