No, there is no cheat to make the value of the lot any less then it already is. Of course when you are in the neighborhood and bring up the cheat menu put in Familyfunds your family name amount of money so an example would be Familyfunds Brown 500000 I know you said you didn't want to give your sims more money, but you can give them the exact amount and also subtact some money if you want a certain amount.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.