DEAR BARRY: I am presently buying my first home and am bothered by a difference of opinion between my home inspector and the seller's roofing contractor. My home inspector has 20 years of experience. He found the shingles to be worn and brittle, with two years of remaining life. But the seller's roofing contractor says the roof has five years of life. My agent says we should get a third opinion, but I'm thinking of canceling the deal. Why can't the experts agree on the condition of the roof? --Mikel

DEAR MIKEL: No one can assign an exact amount of remaining life for roof shingles. It is a subjective assessment, not an exact prediction. Whether two years or five years, the point is this: The shingles show significant signs of aging and wear and have limited remaining life. They will soon need replacement. Home inspectors with 20 years of experience typically know their stuff, so you can probably rely on your inspector's findings.

If you really want the house, try to negotiate a cash credit for roof replacement as part of the deal. That would certainly seem reasonable. You should base this on an estimate from a licensed roofing contractor. For that purpose, it would be wise to take your agent's advice regarding a third opinion from another contractor.

DEAR BARRY: I recently had a flood problem in one of the apartments that I manage. The unit was vacant, and several weeks passed before the moisture condition was addressed. Now there is mold on much of the drywall. Everyone I ask seems to have a different opinion about what to do. Some say I should hire a contractor who specializes in flood damage. Others say I should get a professional mold inspection first. And one person says I should simply clean the mold with bleach and repaint the walls. What do you say? --Don

DEAR DON: The problem with mold issues today is that they can no longer be viewed as purely pragmatic problems. The overriding consideration is liability. The days when mold could be washed with bleach and covered with paint are over. Mold is now a legal issue, as well as a health consideration.

Some people, in fact, have been severely harmed by mold exposure. On the other hand, there are cases where moldy walls could be washed and painted with no adverse health consequences to anyone. But much more is at stake than the likelihood of health problems. For example, what happens when a future occupant of the building finds out that there once was mold in the building and demands documentation to verify that the mold was tested and that removal was done in accordance with environmental standards, with follow-up air-testing? In that case, you would wish that you had done more than apply bleach and paint.

This is the situation that now exists because of past lawsuits and widely publicized hysteria about the dangers of mold. It is from this standpoint that one must consider matters of mold, especially with rental property.

On this basis, a thorough mold evaluation by a qualified expert is recommended, prior to repairing and refinishing the interior of the apartment.

To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the Web at www.housedetective.com.

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Q: During the course of our marriage, my husband and I purchased a home and later took out a second mortgage on the house. In the divorce agreement, I was awarded the house and have subsequently been making the regular monthly payments on the primary mortgage.

As the second mortgage was used to pay off items that were mostly in his name, he agreed to pay the second mortgage upon separation. You should know that neither the second mortgage account nor responsible party was specifically named in the divorce agreement.

For almost four years, he has been making the monthly payments. However, a few months ago, he decided to stop making payments and defaulted on the loan.

I have been informed by reliable sources that I do not have adequate legal recourse to force him into continuing to paying this loan. Yet, I do not feel that after all this time I should be forced into a position of making these payments (nor do I feel that I can afford them as a single mother).

After speaking with some co-workers, I was informed that should he or I neglect to pay this loan, the company would place a lien against the house that would have to be paid at the time of sale. Is there any other recourse that I have in this situation? Due to other issues with my ex-husband, my credit is already very poor, thus the damage of default could not possibly make it any worse.

Also, I intend to sell the house in the next two years. By that time, there should be enough value in the home to cover both the primary and secondary mortgages. How hard is it to settle a lien on a home? What happens if I go to sell the house and the company has not yet placed a lien on the home? Can I still sell the house without paying off the loan? Can I still be sued for the amount of the loan at a later time?

A: I don't know where you live, but your co-workers are misinformed about at least one thing: The second lender could force you into foreclosure if it wanted. More likely, the second lender already has a lien against your home. When you took out the second mortgage, it became a lien on the home. When this house sells, you will not get any proceeds until both of your lenders have been paid off.

You and your divorce lawyer appear to have made a serious mistake by not having the loans specifically named in your divorce agreement. But beyond that, if you are a co-signer of the second mortgage, you are responsible for that loan even if the proceeds were used by your husband to settle his own debts.

Had you named the loan and responsible party in your divorce agreement, you might still be in the same place, but you might have additional legal standing to go back to court to force the issue.

Is your ex-husband still listed on the property as an owner? Is he listed on both mortgages as an owner? If so, then he has killed your credit as he has killed his own -- probably a small comfort. Hopefully, your ex-husband has given up any legal interest he had in the house.

If you feel you can't afford to pay the second mortgage bill, you have a few choices: You can ask the lender to renegotiate the terms of the payment; you can engage in free budgeting services from a reputable credit counseling agency, such as CCCS of Greater Atlanta, to figure out how to make your income go farther; or you can get a second job.

For more information on any legal options you might have, as well as what liabilities and responsibilities you have based on the documents you've signed, please talk to a qualified real estate attorney.

You can also go back to the divorce attorney who assisted you and determine whether you can reopen the divorce proceeding to add a provision to the divorce decree that would make your former husband responsible for the second mortgage. While reopening the divorce judgment might not prevent the lender from foreclosing on the home, it might buy you some time until you decide to sell the home or to entice the second lender into making the loan payments manageable for you.

Q: My siblings and I received property from our mother through a quitclaim deed. She has since died. The property is in West Virginia, but we live in Ohio. We didn't sign the deed nor was it ever recorded through the local clerk of courts.

Is this quitclaim deed valid? If it is, which state law has precedence: West Virginia, where the property is and where my mother lived, or Ohio? Our brother passed away two years ago; his wife claims that she inherited his one-seventh ownership of the property. She does not want to relinquish rights and we are looking for a loophole.

A: From your question, you seem to imply that your sister-in-law has a claim to the property if the quitclaim deed is valid, but if the quitclaim deed is not valid, she might be out of luck.

It's unfortunate that you feel the need to find a "loophole" to deprive your sister-in-law of her share of the property.

I guess you need to see what your mother's intent was when she gave all of you the property and signed the quitclaim deed. If her intent was to have each of her kids receive a piece of her property and now due to terrible circumstances once of your brothers has died, his wife would probably be entitled to his share of the home.

You might be right that there may be a loophole for you to use. But you'll need to consult with a real estate attorney in West Virginia to determine if the quitclaim deed that was unrecorded during the lifetime of the grantor is still valid.

In some states, if a deed is not recorded promptly after delivery to the recipient, that deed could be presumed to be invalid or other people that might claim an interest in the home might have a claim against the home, which could trump the ownership interest of the people named on the deed.

What some people don't realize is that a properly prepared and delivered quitclaim deed will transfer the ownership of a home even if the deed isn't recorded. The key, however, is that some jurisdictions penalize the party that fails to record the deed. Furthermore, if the deed was prepared and signed but never delivered to the intended recipients, you might be able to claim that the deed was invalid, particularly if the proper documentation that might have been necessary for the quitclaim deed was never signed by your mother.

Some states have laws in place that will protect other purchasers of the property if they record a deed for the property prior to a deed that floats around without ever being recorded.

Some states also want to collect taxes and other fees on the recording of the deed. And in some other jurisdictions, when the deed is recorded, property taxes can increase substantially for the new owner.

Due to all of these issues and state laws, you need to determine if anything happened to the title to the home from the time your mother executed the quitclaim deed to the time of her death. You'll also need to determine if the executor of her will in West Virginia has taken any action in court to dispose of the property.

When your mom died, her will, if she had one, would have dictated who received what share of her assets. If she left all of her assets in her will to her children equally, then your late brother would have received a share and it's likely that his wife, or, at the very least, their children, would have inherited his share of the property after his death.

If your mom died "intestate," or without a will, the laws of the state in which she died would determine who received what assets.

I'm sorry, but there is no simple answer to your question. You'll need to do some additional research on the title to your mom's home to see if anything changed on the status of the probate of your mom's will, and on the status of the quitclaim deed.

To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.

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Finding a good agent or agents to help you buy or sell a home can vastly improve the quality of your experience. Ideally, you want someone who is professional, trustworthy and diligent.

It's impossible to predict at the outset exactly how a purchase or sale transaction will play out. But, invariably there are bumps along the road. Good rapport and mutual respect make it easier to work through problems should they arise.

Even if you don't run into difficulties, there are a lot of decisions to make along the way. So, select an agent or agents who have good communication skills.

When you find an agent you like, it's tempting to envision using that agent for all your residential transactions. In many cases, that makes good sense. You have an established relationship that works for you.

Repeat home buyers who are selling one home and buying another one in the same location often find it easier to use the same agent for both transactions, particularly if it's someone they had good experience with in the past. Coordinating the two transactions can be easier if you're working with one agent.

However, if you're buying in a new housing development that doesn't cooperate with outside agents, you may have no other option than to use the developer's sales staff. Also, there are agents who work only with buyers. In this case, you'd need to use a different agent to sell your home.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Sellers who sell a home in one location and want to buy elsewhere should find an agent who specializes in that area. Some sellers are so attached to their listing agent that they want that agent to represent them in a purchase even though the agent has no expertise in the area. This should be avoided.

Be aware that there are some agents, particularly in the current sluggish market, that will offer to represent you in an out-of-area purchase. If the agent has no past experience selling homes in that area, he or she could be doing you a disservice. Instead, ask your agent to find you a superb agent to work with in the new location.

Usually, it's best to commit to working exclusively with the agent(s) you select. You're likely to get better service from an agent who is 100 percent committed to you, and who knows that you won't use the agent's time and then buy through someone else.

Sometimes, however, the inventory of the kind of home you're looking for is so scarce that you may need to let more than one agent know what you're looking for. Also, you may look in several areas at once and be best served by using more than one agent.

Some agents require buyers to sign a buyer representation contract. Before signing such an agreement, make sure you understand it. If it's an exclusive agreement, you could end up owing the agent a fee even if you were to buy a home through a different agent.

Also make sure that you can cancel the agreement without penalty if it turns out that you made the wrong choice and the agent is not doing a good job for you.

Even if you don't enter into a contractual agreement with a buyer's agent, you could find that what you thought would be a good working relationship turns out not to be. In this case, it's best to have a candid discussion with your agent about what's not working for you.

At that point, you can either end the relationship or you can give the agent a chance to improve the quality of service.

THE CLOSING: Never forget that you are in the driver's seat.

Dian Hymer is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of "House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers" and "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books.

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DEAR BENNY: My son and his wife own a house. Just before the housing market downturn, they moved 1,000 miles away to pursue a much more lucrative-paying career for him. Since then they haven't been able to rent the house, and if they sold it they would lose $30,000 to $40,000. Even though he makes great pay, they are barely squeaking by having to make that house payment and an apartment payment. Because they have kept up with the payment their credit rating is still excellent. Is there anything they can do to unload the house without taking a big hit on their credit rating or losing a lot of money? --Janice

DEAR JANICE: What is the loan to value (LTV) of your son's house? Is there any equity left or is it "upside down"? That means that the mortgage is higher than the current value of the house.

If there is some equity remaining, I would arrange a sale at any cost, just enough to pay off the mortgage and a real estate commission. In fact, your son and daughter-in-law should try to negotiate a lower commission with any real estate agent that lists their house.

If this is an "upside down" situation, then they should talk with a lender and see if a "short sale" can be accepted by the bank. This means that the house is placed on the market for sale at a price below its appraised value, and everyone (seller, broker and lender) take a hit. But if all goes well, someone will buy at the reduced price.

There comes a time in everyone's life that you have to "bite the bullet." Your son has been paying the PITI (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) for several years. Had they significantly reduced the price two years ago, they would have taken a loss on the sale, but would not have to carry that house as well as their present location.

My suggestion: There is no guarantee when this "meltdown" will end. Do whatever it takes to get rid of the house as soon as possible.

DEAR BENNY: About 10 years ago my wife and I purchased a home in the state of Maryland. At the time I was unemployed and my credit was not so good, so the house was purchased in my wife's name only. Now my wife is not doing well healthwise. I need to know what to do to add my name to the loan papers and to the deed. Is there any recourse to putting my name on these documents? It's never been an issue till now. --Franklin

DEAR FRANKLIN: Sorry to hear about your wife's health, but you should have put your name on title a long time ago. However, it's never too late. The local recorder of deeds may be able to help, although some recorders believe that they are not permitted to provide legal assistance and will not be helpful. Otherwise, contact a local attorney. It is not a big deal nor is it expensive. Since you are married, at least in the state of Maryland there is no transfer or recordation tax between husband and wife. You will have to pay the nominal filing fee.

You do not have to worry about the mortgage loan, although obviously you have to keep current with the monthly payments. Just send your lender a letter, and enclose a copy of the deed in which your name will be added. The lender cannot take any action against you just because you are going to be a co-owner with your wife.

How will you take title? Oversimplified, although not applicable in all states, there are three ways:

Tenants by the Entirety (T/E): This is reserved for husband and wife. Unless the parties agree to change this form of title, only death or divorce can impact on this title arrangement. On the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse automatically becomes the full owner of the property.

Joint tenants with rights of survivorship: In some states, T/E does not exist. This is similar to a T/E as it pertains to death or divorce. However, a joint tenancy can be unilaterally severed. Furthermore, creditors of one of the joint tenants can attach the joint asset so as to get paid out of the judgment debtor's portion of the property.

Tenants in Common: Under this approach, each party owns a divisible interest in the property. While it often is 50-50, there is no legal requirement that each party own half of the property. On the death of one of the tenants in common, his/her estate has to be probated, and the property interests of the deceased party will be distributed pursuant to any last will and testament. If there is no will, the intestacy laws of the state will guide the probate judge on how to distribute that property.

You must discuss these various approaches with your lawyer to make sure that you are doing the right thing.

DEAR BENNY: My daughter owns a condo unit in Michigan where she has lived for 23 years. She has recently moved to Florida and would like to sell this unit but is unable to do so in the present market even after offering it at a very low price. She would like to put it up for rent to help pay the continuing expenses.

She says that a few years ago she and all other owners signed papers for the presiding board of their association that they would not rent out their units. My daughter is a 100 percent fully paid and deeded owner of this property. Can this association legally keep her from renting her condo unit? --Richard

DEAR RICHARD: The general law for community associations (condominiums, homeowner associations or cooperative apartments) is that all owners are bound by their legal documents, as they existed at the time they first moved in and as they may be properly amended in the future.

The question your daughter has to ask is whether these "papers" that everyone signed were a valid amendment to the condominium legal documents or were merely a pledge on the part of all owners.

If the former, then your daughter cannot rent out her unit. However, she is facing a problem that many owners now have. They have to leave the association for whatever reason, but either cannot sell or have to sell at a "fire-sale" price.

This will seriously impact the financial well-being of your daughter's association. She should discuss the situation with the board. While they do not have the authority to contradict the legal requirements of the bylaws, they can take steps to resolve this situation. The best way would be to amend the bylaws again, but this is time consuming. Alternatively, the board could poll the membership and ask if they would be willing to waive the "no-rental" provision, at least for the next year or so. If the board receives a super-majority response supporting this waiver, it could agree to "close its eyes" and allow rentals. While this is technically not legal -- as it would be a clear violation of the bylaws -- that's the best suggestion I can make. However, the board would have to determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether to approve rentals.

I suggest that you determine if the "no-rent" provision was, in fact, properly adopted as an amendment to your bylaws, and determine if it was recorded among the land records in the county where the condo is located.

DEAR BENNY: How can I, as a landlord, protect myself when a tenant does not give up the house at the agreed-to date and I have signed with a new tenant? Am I totally liable for expenses and discomfort the new tenant will suffer if the property is not available and in move-in condition?

This concerns me because my current tenant wants to have a new lease with a floating 90-day notice period, as she is possibly purchasing a home within this next year. As you know, many factors may surface that could jeopardize her departure date. --Dudley

DEAR DUDLEY: Your new lease with the existing tenant should have a provision that requires her to give you a minimum of 60 days' advance notice of intention to leave the property. If she does not vacate pursuant to her notice, she will have to pay you a higher rent -- say 50 percent higher.

And if you find a new tenant, make sure that your lease states that you will not be responsible for any damages should the house not be vacant when the new tenant is supposed to move in. This may turn off potential tenants, but you need to protect yourself.

Benny L. Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. No legal relationship is created by this column. Questions for this column can be submitted to benny@inman.com.

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Over time, many homes develop little nonstructural problem areas that need to be dealt with, and it seems like the older the house, the more of those little problems that occur. Here's some advice on fixing a few of the more common door and trim situations you might typically encounter.

Out-of-square corners

If you've tried installing trim in a corner and can't get the miter joint to come out right, it's probably because the corner is out of square -- meaning that it's not an exact 90 degrees. To rectify the problem, you need to get an exact measurement on the angle of the corner, then adjust your miter joints to compensate.

The easiest way to do this is with an adjustable bevel gauge, which can be purchased inexpensively at any hardware store or home center. The bevel gauge has a wood or plastic handle with a metal blade that's held in place with a wing nut. To use the tool, simply loosen the wing nut and place the handle in the corner against one of the walls. Move the blade until it's flat against the other wall and tighten the wing nut, accurately duplicating the angle of the corner.

Using a protractor, measure the angle between the handle and the blade then divide that number by two, giving you the angle of the miter cut you need to make. For example, if the angle of your wall corner measures 94 degrees, your miter cuts would each be 47 degrees instead of the standard 45 degrees (94 divided by 2 = 47).

Doors that sag and won't latch

Over time, a door's own weight will have a tendency to make the door want to sag down away from the frame at the top hinge. This can result in a door that rubs against the frame at the top corner, or that doesn't latch properly.

To correct the sag, remove one or two of the screws that hold the upper hinge to the frame and replace them with 2- to 3-inch-long screws that will go all the way through the door frame and into the wall framing behind. Drill a pilot hole first to make it easier to install the screw. As the screw is tightened, you should see the entire door frame pull up tight against the wall framing, eliminating the sag.

Removing the sag is usually enough to correct any problems with the door latching, since it pulls the latch on the door back into alignment with the metal strike plate on the door frame. If the door still won't latch, you'll need to make an adjustment in the strike plate.

Coat the face of the latch where it protrudes from the door with lipstick or crayon, and slowly close the door. When you open it again, you'll see where the lipstick has transferred marks onto the strike plate, giving you a good indication of how much the plate needs to move in order to have the latch fully engage it again. Unscrew the strike plate, and use a sharp chisel to mortise the door frame enough to allow the strike plate to move. Drill out each of the old screw holes and insert a piece of hardwood dowel coated with glue into the holes -- this seals off the old holes so the screws won't wander back into them. Finally, place the strike plate in the adjusted position, drill two new screw holes, and reinstall the screws.

Camouflaging defects

Exposed ducts, surface-mounted pipes, and miscellaneous bumps and bulges are all items you might encounter that you'd like to put under cover. The easiest and cleanest solution in most instances is to simply box over them, and blend them into the surrounding area as well as possible.

Start by measuring the protrusion at the widest point, and then figure how best to construct a cover. For example, if you have a piece of pipe sticking out of the wall an inch or two in one corner, the best solution is to build a small box that's open on one or two sides as necessary -- 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch plywood works well for this -- and slip it over the pipe, securing it with nails, screws or even adhesive, depending on the situation.

If, on the other hand, you have a duct running along the ceiling for three quarters of the length of the room, you'll probably need to construct a framework from 2-by-2s or 2-by-4s to box in the entire duct. Oddly enough, it sometimes looks best to make the box larger than it needs to be -- in this example, the box will probably be less obtrusive if you make it the entire length of the room, rather than stopping it three quarters of the way across where the duct stops.

After the plywood or 2-by frame is constructed, think about how best to cover it. There is often a temptation to cover things with inexpensive paneling, or to just leave the plywood as "good enough," but if the surrounding wall is drywall that's been painted or wallpapered, the new cover will look much better if you do whatever you can to match it to what's around it.

Remodeling and repair questions? E-mail Paul at paulbianchina@inman.com.

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Q: When my husband and I purchased our Georgia home in 2002, I wasn't working. The loan and title are in his name only. Is there any way to put my name on the title in case anything should ever happen to him? Is this something that could cause a problem for me if he should die?

A: In most states, you shouldn't have a problem having your husband transfer the title of the home from his name alone to him and to you as husband and wife with rights of survivorship.

If you and your husband have an agreement as to how the two of you should own the home, you should make sure to hold title in the manner you desire. This is particularly true if you decide to work with an estate planner or an estate attorney and create a living trust to hold the property. Then, you can put the title into the name of that trust.

If you decide to transfer title to both of you, you will need to have a document prepared to transfer title from your husband to the two of you or to an estate-planning trust. In some cases, most people will transfer title using a quitclaim deed, but in some cases a warranty deed may be a better option.

Both a quitclaim deed and a warranty deed can achieve the same result, but a warranty deed may carry forward the protections the owner of the property had under his or her title insurance policy that he or she obtained when purchasing the property and carry forward that protection, subject to the terms of the title insurance policy, to the new owners.

In some states, a quitclaim deed is not the right document to use. In some of those states where quitclaim deeds are not generally used, there are other documents under different names that can do the same job for you.

Your real estate attorney or estate attorney can advise you further.

Q: I have a quitclaim deed naming my mom, my two older brothers and me as the new owners of the house. The deed states that each of us owns the home with rights of survivorship. My mother and two older brothers have passed away. Am I the sole owner now?

A: If the person that signed the quitclaim deed was the rightful owner of the property, your mom, your brothers and you owned the property at the time the deed was transferred. If you held the property with rights of survivorship, as the sole survivor of all of the people named on the quitclaim deed, you should now be the sole owner of the property.

However, while it certainly seems as if you should be the sole owner of the property, there may be other circumstances out there that could change your situation. Some of these issues could include the loss of the property due to unpaid real estate taxes; the loss of the property due to a mortgage foreclosure action; or, if the property was abandoned for years, someone else might now have a claim on the property.

If your family has occupied and used the home continuously, you should be the owner. For clarity on this issue, you can go to a title insurance company in your area and request that they prepare a title insurance commitment for the property. That title insurance commitment should identify the owner of the property.

If you are applying for a loan on the property, your lender may order a title insurance commitment and that title insurance commitment should identify you as the sole owner of the property.

Q: I own two homes and share ownership with my brother of a third family house and property that is unoccupied. We inherited the third property from our mother this year. Can I deduct 50 percent of the property taxes on the inherited property from my federal income taxes?

A: In short, you probably can't deduct the real estate taxes on the inherited property.

That property is not an investment property so you can't deduct the taxes on that basis. You also won't be able to deduct the real estate taxes because the property is neither your primary home nor your second home. For now, you seem to be out of luck.

For more information, you might want to talk to an accountant or your tax preparer to see if there are other circumstances specific to your situation that might allow you to deduct those real estate taxes on your federal income tax form.

To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.

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Q: One of my neighbors informed me that one of my newest tenants is a registered sex offender (I'm not sure how she found this out). He stated on his rental application that he had a three-year-old felony conviction, but he did not report details. Figuring that everyone deserves a chance, I did not ask further and rented to him and his wife and two young children, giving them a yearlong lease. They've caused no problems. Our local sheriff's department plans to notify the neighbors of his address and criminal history.

I'm concerned about the safety of this man and his family, as well as how I should handle this situation with the neighbors. Can you please provide me with some guidance on how I should proceed? --Jan

A: You've encountered one of the most difficult situations a landlord can find herself in. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers. You were not legally required to ask about your tenant's criminal history, and you've broken no laws by learning that the applicant had a criminal past but not going further to find out what the conviction entailed. And even had you learned the details, a decision to rent nevertheless would not have been illegal. But legalities are one thing, and practicalities are another.

Your fear that neighbors will react negatively to your new tenant is well-founded. Neighbors who learn that a registered offender lives in their midst have often reacted strongly, demanding that the offender move away. Many offenders have been rendered homeless by the refusal of landlords to rent to them (when they provide their history) or the constant harassment of neighbors who want them gone. When the offender is homeless and no longer registering at his home address, the whole point of the registration system (tracking the whereabouts of a registrant) is frustrated.

To effectively deal with the situation, start with the police department themselves. With luck, you'll find that they have developed educational materials aimed at answering questions that neighbors commonly ask, and they may be willing to come out to your property and speak to a gathering of the neighbors. Meet immediately with your tenant and his family, and assure them that you will protect their right to live peacefully in their home as long as they have a legal right to live there. Understand that until these tenants give you a legal reason to terminate their tenancy, your (or your neighbors') fear alone that the father will commit a crime on the premises will not support a decision to terminate their lease or evict them.

Q: I am a tenant and sublet two of the bedrooms in my rental. My subtenants signed a one-year lease but announced two months later that they are breaking the lease and moving out because they prefer to live in another area of the city. There has been no death, change of job, miscommunication about the property, or any extreme circumstance that would have caused this change. They are trying to find replacement subtenants, but I am not interested in letting them out of the lease or signing any contract that allows them to exit the lease.

Are their leases null and void once I sign a new sublease with new tenants? I'm worried that anyone they find to take their bedrooms may skip out on me too, and then I will not be able to make my full rent payments and be forced to fall behind on my original lease. --Candace H.

A: The situation you find yourself in is no different than that of a landlord who is faced with a lease-breaking tenant. Here's the scoop: Your subtenants are legally responsible for the rent for the balance of the lease, until you re-rent. At that point, their responsibility ends. In most states, you have the obligation to make reasonable efforts to find an acceptable replacement, however -- you can't just sit back and sue for the entire remaining months. Your subtenants are smart to begin this search, for the quicker they deliver an acceptable sub, the quicker their liability ends.

Once you or they have found an acceptable sub, you have a choice. You can accept the newcomers as your subtenants' subtenants -- that's right, you now have two, nesting sets of subtenants. The advantage of this arrangement is that you will keep your original subtenants in the picture, which means that if the new residents fail to pay the rent, you can look to the original subtenants to fulfill it (after all, their subtenancy agreement is still alive). Or, you can terminate the original subtenants' sublease, and sign a separate sublease with the new folks. If you do that, you'll be cutting the originals out of the picture, and depriving yourself of a source of payment should you need it.

In theory, the better course is to keep the originals as guarantors of their replacements. But on a practical level, you may have a hard time enforcing the obligation of the original occupants. If the new residents don't pay the rent, you can't give the originals a notice to "pay or quit" (they live elsewhere now). You'll have to go after them in small claims court, and you might find that your time and energy will be better spent looking for yet a new subtenant. The only clear answer in all of this is that you should be absolutely sure your chosen subtenants are sold on the place before you accept them.

Janet Portman is an attorney and managing editor at Nolo. She specializes in landlord/tenant law and is co-author of "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" and "Every Tenant's Legal Guide." She can be reached at janet@inman.com.

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Q: My widowed mother is quite ill and is in a nursing home. My brother would like to move into her now-unoccupied home in New Jersey. It is expected that once my mother's estate is distributed, my brother will have an inheritance more than sufficient to purchase the house.

Until that distribution, however, he lives only on his Social Security check. Thus, he lacks the funds to purchase her house. My other brother and I see a benefit to having him occupy the house. We're having trouble securing homeowner insurance on an unoccupied house. Some companies will not write a policy unless the home is owner-occupied.

We are thinking about selling him the house at its current market value, with my mother taking back a mortgage that would be satisfied at the time the estate is distributed. Presumably, my mother would be eligible for the $250,000 exclusion from profits on the proceeds from the sale of her residence, since she has lived there for two of the past five years. My brother would get a cost basis equal to his purchase price.

Would this work? Would my brother need to pay interest on this type of mortgage? My mother has no need for current income.

A: I'm sorry that your mother is not well. It sounds like you and your brothers are able to think about her and her estate clearly and are trying to provide for each other. That's very helpful all around.

It's clear from your letter that having your brother move into your mother's unoccupied house would be a good idea for everyone. But I am not sure why your brother needs to purchase the house now.

Is there a reason why he can't just move into the property and pay some sort of nominal rent to your mother so that the costs of ownership would be covered? She probably doesn't have much of a mortgage, if any at all. By moving in, he can live there cheaply, take care of the property and you can get insurance.

When your mother dies, it sounds like your brother will have additional resources. At that time, the house will pass into the estate at its current market value. When you divide up the assets, you and your other brother may decide to "sell" the property to your third brother, or you may decide that as part of his share of the estate, he receives title to the property. As long as he can afford to pay the costs of ownership, including taxes, insurance, maintenance and upkeep, he may decide that owning the property free and clear is what he really wants.

The three of you should discuss the details of your mother's estate, and what each piece of it is worth. Then, sit down with an estate planner or attorney and discuss whether his buying the house now, or receiving it as an asset, is the right choice.

Q: My father passed away and left an estate valued at $5 million dollars. I have been named as administrator of the estate. We have paid most of the estate taxes but still owe $300,000 to the government.

In the estate is a building valued at $2 million with no mortgage. Could we get a mortgage to cover the $300,000 we owe to the IRS?

A: My condolences on the loss of your father. With so much equity in the building, you may be able to get an equity line of credit for $300,000 or more to cover the tax bill that is due.

While it isn't easy to get loans these days on investment properties, the amount you're borrowing relative to the equity in the property should make it easier for a lender to approve this loan. Also, if the property generates income that can support that size mortgage, the lender may not have trouble with it.

Please talk to a well-capitalized local bank that has an interest in the area in which the building is located as well as some other larger lenders. If you can't get a loan on the property but have a lot of equity in your own home, you might consider taking out a home equity line of credit that would allow you to pay the government while giving you a tax deduction.

For more details and perhaps other suggestions, please discuss the situation with a real estate attorney.

To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.

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Q: If the house I'd like to purchase doesn't pass inspection, will the entire transaction be canceled and money refunded?

A: Oh, if only life (and real estate) were so black-and-white -- being a grown-up would be so much easier! Unfortunately, home inspections are not pass-fail. Rather, they are part of your due diligence duties as a responsible home buyer. They give you the information you need to decide whether to proceed with the purchase and/or renegotiate terms with the seller. Your ability to cancel the deal and get your deposit money back is governed by the terms of your contract, and standard practices vary from state to state.

Mindset Management

Before you even begin inspections -- in fact, before you start house hunting, cultivate clarity about your position on the condition of your target property. Be introspective about your level of tolerance -- if any -- for actually doing or managing repairs and upgrades, your ability to fund repairs, and your interest in living in your home while work is being done. Get clear on what I call your Vision of Home -- what do you want your daily life to look like after you buy your ideal property? Do you want to spend your spare time throwing sophisticated soirees in your pristine digs or bribing your buddies to pitch in at your painting parties? Do you want to move in to Pottery Barn chic or are you excited at the prospect of working hard to customize your place to your exact specifications. Are you OK with painting and replacing flooring, but not much else, or do your handyman skills put Bob Vila to shame?

Even if you decide that your dream digs will be in move-in condition, you must understand that no property is perfect. The older a property is, the less perfect it is likely to be, though older properties often have compensating factors, like charm and higher-quality materials and workmanship than modern construction. Early on in your house hunt, ask your Realtor to brief you about what the norm is in terms of condition in the neighborhoods, price range and property type you'll be shopping from. And it's up to you to brief your Realtor on your level of fixer-friendliness, or lack thereof.

Finally, to get the three basic inspections -- pest, property and roof -- costs an average of about $700 in a metropolitan market -- more for luxury homes. If you have inspections, hate the results and choose to back out of the transaction at a time when you can get your deposit back, you will still be out the cost of inspections. Some buyers are tempted to skimp on inspections for that reason, but that is foolhardy.

The upfront costs of inspection are an investment in avoiding drama and huge expense later. I once had a client who was in contract to buy a home that had been gutted to the studs and rehabbed in its entirety -- the windows and appliances still had their tags on! Nevertheless, we ordered a property inspection and were told that two-thirds of the foundation needed to be replaced, which would run about $80,000. For a second opinion, I called a foundation specialist who disagreed with the original inspector -- he said the entire foundation needed to be replaced, which he could do for about $90,000, but that to prevent the drainage problems from recurring, a $30,000 drainage system needed to be installed. Had my buyer neglected to have an inspection because everything was new, she would have been signing up for a huge, nasty surprise later on.

Need-to-Knows

In most areas there are very few or no requirements a home must "pass" before it can be legally sold. Where there are, they tend to be very basic requirements, like lead testing, smoke detector installation or water heater strapping to resist earthquakes. (Note that government loans may have additional requirements, like no broken windows, etc.) The real test of a property is whether it "passes" your requirements for condition. Many times, in order to know this, you must collect all your inspection reports, make decisions about what recommended repairs you feel you would need to complete in order to feel comfortable owning the property, and collect bids to determine how much the repairs will cost. From there, you and your Realtor should decide whether to ask the seller to contribute to or complete any repairs, and precisely what to ask for. If the repairs are too major or the inspection report findings too grim, you might elect to simply cancel the deal and look for another property.

This begs the question of whether you can cancel the deal and get your money back if the inspection results don't meet your approval and you are unwilling or unable to either (a) resolve the condition issues with the seller or (b) to take the property as-is. Different states have different standard practices on this matter, but most fall into two camps: contingency-period states and objection-period states.

If you are in a contingency-period state, like California, you put an earnest money deposit into escrow when your offer was accepted. From the date of acceptance your contract provides a certain number of days (17 days, unless you and the seller agreed otherwise) in which you can remove or exercise your contingencies. Contingencies are just your right to back out of the contract for various reasons -- including that the condition of the property is not to your satisfaction. In your contract, you agree that at the end of your contingency period, you will either exercise your contingencies (backing out of the deal) or remove your contingencies (indicating that you plan to move forward and close the deal).

Most California contracts include an agreement that your deposit becomes nonrefundable and goes to the seller if you remove your contingencies and then later bail; in exchange, the seller agrees not to sue you if you breach the contract in this way. However, in a contingency state you must proactively sign a document that formally removes your contingencies for your deposit money to become nonrefundable -- if your contingency period expires, and you haven't removed your contingencies and you decide to bail, you are still legally entitled to get your deposit money back. The flip side is that if your contingency period expires and you don't remove them, the seller can issue you a 24-hour notice forcing you to either remove them or cancel the deal.

Ideally, though, you will get your inspections and review the reports early on in the contingency period, to give yourself ample time to get repair bids, get your loan underwritten, and have the appraisal completed and reviewed with time to spare. If you are in a contingency state, and you decide to back out of the deal because of negative inspection results before you have removed your contingencies, you are entitled to receive your deposit money back, minus any inspection costs you have incurred.

If you are in an objection state, you have an objection period instead of a contingency period. If you do not make a repair request or back out of the deal within the objection-period time frame, your deposit money automatically becomes nonrefundable. Note that many bank-owned properties are sold under boilerplate contracts that create an objection period, even in contingency states. So, if you are in an objection state, you must make your move and cancel the deal before your objection period runs out, or you will not be able to get your deposit money back.

Action Plan

1. Get clear on how much fixing you are prepared to do or to pay for, before you start house hunting.

2. Communicate this to your Realtor.

3. When you get into contract, get clear on when your contingency or objection period expires. And read your contract and any addenda to be sure you understand how and when you are entitled to cancel the contract and get a deposit refund.

4. Don't skimp on inspections -- attend them and read the reports, collect repair bids, then decide whether you can resolve any condition issues with the seller.

5. If you can't resolve all condition issues, cancel the deal, but make sure you do it before your contingency or objection period expires to ensure a quick and easy refund of your deposit money.

Tara-Nicholle Nelson is author of "The Savvy Woman's Homebuying Handbook," and "Trillion Dollar Women: Use Your Power to Make Buying and Remodeling Decisions." Ask her a real estate question online or visit her Web site, www.rethinkrealestate.com.

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A previous column on "water hammers" struck a chord with two of our readers.

One accused us of being "on the take" for suggesting that our homeowner might have to open a wall or call a plumber. Another offered another avenue to explore if there is noise in the pipes. Both suggestions bear repeating.

Our first reader wrote:

"How much did the plumbers pay you to give that answer to the question about hammering pipes?

"I had a severe hammer in my 1923 house, and my wonderful neighbor told me just what to do. The house was built with the air chamber 'shock absorber' you described, but it somehow got filled up with water. My neighbor told me to bleed the system -- that is, turn off the supply at the sidewalk and open every faucet in the house and garden.

"After all the water drained out, I turned the supply back on, let it run until the faucets all stopped sputtering, and then turned all the faucets off and the water back on. The hammer was gone. That was 15 years ago, and I've never had a problem since. No plumbing, no plastering -- the whole thing took about 15 minutes.

"I'd suggest anyone with a hammering problem try this before opening a wall or calling a plumber."

Good suggestion. As we always say, try the simple fix first. Your suggestion is certainly the simplest fix -- and it might be the right one. But we have our doubts.

Last week, we answered our reader's question with a couple of suggestions. One possible solution was to install the "shock absorbers" you are fortunate to have.

We've opened a lot of wet walls over the years, and we don't recall ever finding the supply lines configured with these 12-inch risers that serve as air chambers. This was the "Cadillac" way to do it and, in our experience, it wasn't done often. We'd be surprised if our reader's 1906 duplex was so equipped.

The downside of this installation you discovered 15 years ago: Eventually, the air trapped in the riser blends with the water in the system and the air chamber fails. As you point out, when that happens, emptying and recharging the system is the way to fix the hammer.

Our second reader wrote:

"I had a similar problem in a house built in 1899. I first tried the plumber's-tape fix (securing the pipes to the framing), but could not detect any movement in the pipes while I was working under the house, which surprised me because there are some fairly long pipe runs.

"I finally determined the culprit to be a worn faucet insert that was pounding the seat and inside the faucet itself. Simply replacing the insert portion of the faucet with the correct new part from the hardware store solved the problem.

"Because the letter writer is singling out one faucet (the bathroom), perhaps one of the inserts in that faucet is the source of the sounds he is hearing. As you say, the change in pressure caused by the flushing of the nearby toilet could disrupt the pressure in the system and easily affect a faucet that is being fed by the same supply line.

"Another place I own, a commercial building built in about 1850, had the same problem in one of the units. The plumber who helps me called and said he was going to support the pipes with plumber's tape. I told him what I had found with the faucet insert -- he tried it, and that solved the problem. Makes me think I should have charged him."

Another good suggestion. In that case it wasn't the pipes at all, but a broken faucet. We presume the insert the writer was talking about is the seat for the rubber washer. We can only imagine over the years how homeowners (not you) ratcheted down the stem to stop the water flow rather than change the washer.

That may well be the reason the seat failed. For those of you out there with "washered" faucets, set up a regular maintenance schedule to change the washers.

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One of the most significant developments in the history of reverse mortgages occurred recently when FHA Commissioner Brian Montgomery announced that a new single national limit had been reached, eliminating critical geographical boundaries for many seniors in the country's most popular reverse mortgage program.

Loans insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, known as Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, or HECMs, now have a common ceiling of $417,000, regardless of where the home is located.

Previously, the HECM program assigned different lending limits by county ranging from $200,160 in rural areas to $362,790 in the highest home-value areas. The new, higher lending limit will enable borrowers to obtain a substantially greater benefit from their homes, if the value is higher than the previous HUD limit.

Similarly, existing borrowers whose home value is greater than the new HUD limit may be able to increase their benefit by refinancing their reverse mortgage and are encouraged to contact their lenders to weigh fees and costs to determine if it makes sense to refinance.

Lenders and consumers have been pushing for the single national limit for more than a decade, arguing that the longtime method of assigning limits by area for HECMs was too restrictive. All interested parties had been waiting for clarity on a figure -- if the single national limit would be set at $417,000 or $625,500, or a sliding scale somewhere in between. While many borrowers had hoped for a higher benchmark, the $417,000 number came as no surprise given the state of the conventional lending environment.

"HUD should be applauded for its expedient implementation of the single national loan limit for the HECM program, especially during such a tumultuous period," said Peter Bell, president of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, a nonprofit trade group based in Washington, D.C. "The higher single national loan limit and other provisions expected to be implemented in the coming months make reverse mortgages a more viable retirement financial option for a broader audience who can receive higher benefits at lower origination fees than ever before."

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 recently reduced the maximum fee to 2 percent on the initial $200,000 of the home's value and 1 percent on the balance thereafter, with a cap of $6,000. Previously, HECM fees were capped at 2 percent of your home's value or the county lending limit, whichever was lower.

Bell said the new formula for maximum origination fees would become effective concurrently with the Nov. 6 implementation of the new HECM loan limits.

Since HECMs were first launched as a pilot program in 1989, loan maximums have been slow to rise. In 2004, for example, the highest of the loan limits -- applicable generally to major metropolitan areas -- increased to $290,319, up from $280,749. The lowest loan ceiling, which typically applies to rural and non-metropolitan areas, rose to $160,176, up from $154,896. Clearly, a senior with an expensive home in a rural area did not find the HECM appealing.

More than 450,000 HECMs have been made since 1989. FHA, a branch of HUD, insured 107,367 HECMs in 2007 compared with 43,131 in 2005.

A reverse mortgage enables senior homeowners to convert part of the equity in their homes into tax-free income without having to sell the home, give up title or take on a new monthly mortgage payment. Reverse mortgages are available to individuals 62 or older who own their home. Funds obtained from the reverse mortgage are tax-free.

Borrowers can choose to receive the reverse mortgage funds as a lump sum, monthly income, line of credit, or as a combination of monthly income and line of credit.

They can use the funds anyway they wish -- for home repairs and improvements, medical costs, in-home care, education and supplemental retirement income. Borrowers make no monthly payments on a reverse mortgage during its term. The loan becomes repayable when the borrower sells the home or permanently moves out. In addition, the repayment amount can't exceed the value of the home.

Reverse mortgages are originated largely by private lenders. Most are members of the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and are required to sign a code of conduct, and follow best practices for the treatment and counseling of seniors.

To get even more valuable advice from Tom, visit his Second Home Center.

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When setting up your household budget, you have to think about big-ticket items, such as how much should you spend on your rent or mortgage payments, how much should you budget for utilities in a new home, and what will it cost you to buy homeowner or renter insurance to fully protect yourself in case of catastrophe.

But more trivial expenses, like how much you're going to spend on the average Saturday night out and what kinds of cable bills you'll be paying are important pieces of a household budget as well. And with the cost of food and fuel rising, you might need to pare back on your household entertainment expenses if your heating bill is skyrocketing.

Knowing what your household expenses will be before you move into your new home may be time-consuming to calculate. But creating this kind of household budget before you move will make your financial life easier down the road.

Here's how to create your own household budget: Start with your basic household expenses: housing expenses (rent or mortgage); insurance premium (a homeowner or renter policy); utilities (phone, electric, gas, cable, Internet service, wireless, etc.); food; entertainment; clothing expenses; home furnishings (painting, carpeting, furniture, etc.); transportation; savings; donations; children's expenses (if you have any); medical; household cleaning and maintenance expenses; and school supplies or daycare expenses, if you have kids, etc.

If you own your home or will be buying a home, be sure to include ongoing costs for maintenance and upkeep, real estate taxes, and homeowner association dues or monthly maintenance costs.

A big clue to what you will spend in the future can be found in what you're spending right now. If you don't already track your household expenses, you should buy a small, wire-bound notebook and start writing down every cent you spend. A neat trick I still employ is to wrap a sheet of paper around the dollar bills in my wallet (a piece of sticky notepaper works also) and then any time I withdraw dollars from my wallet, I write down how much I've spent in cash.

You probably pay a lot of your household expenses with your checkbook, so run through the checks you've written or sent online, and jot them down in your wire-bound notebook. If you have a pocket or purse full of receipts, be sure to add those in as well. Go online to check your credit-card accounts, and write down all purchases you've made in the past few months.

If you track your expenses with money management software, such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, you'll be able to quickly get your hands on these numbers. If not, consider using free online services to track your household expenses, such as Quicken Online or Mint.com. You can download your credit-card charges and bank information into your online accounts, which should update automatically. You can then check this information from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection.

Once you know what you're currently paying, you should analyze whether you're living above, below or at your means. Then, try to calculate what your basic expenses will be in your new home.

Will your new mortgage or rent payment be higher than what you're paying now? What if you factor in taxes and insurance? Will these higher payments be affordable or will you be putting an undue strain on your household budget?

Don't underestimate the extra one-time costs associated with your move. You may have to hire movers or rent your own moving truck. You'll need to clean your new home and perhaps buy draperies, appliances or even light fixtures. While these one-time expenses shouldn't sink your ongoing household budget, they can drain your cash reserves, so be sure to plan for them when you're saving up for your move.

When it comes to setting up a household budget that works, you've got to be realistic and conservative. You should be realistic on what things actually cost, so if you don't know, take the time to find out how much your property taxes will be, for example. For numbers that can't be known, you should estimate expenses conservatively. So instead of guessing that your energy bill will be $200 per month, set your budget number at $300 or even $400 per month. The worst thing that will happen is you'll wind up with some extra cash at the end of the month.

Even after you move into your new home, you should continue tracking your expenses for at least a year. (Actually, I think you should track your expenses forever.)

Over the course of the first year you live in your new home, you'll see how your expenses rise and fall with the seasons, and you'll get a real sense of how much you're spending to live the way you do. If you decide you need to tighten your belt, you'll have a year's worth of household expenses to look back on and help you make the decision where to cut.

To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.

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DEAR BARRY: We have a major problem with drain flies under our house. We've called a plumber and an exterminator, but both say they've never seen this kind of problem before. We've also had the septic system pumped and inspected, but this doesn't seem to be the source of the flies. What should we do? --Tracy

DEAR TRACY: Your exterminator should know about drain flies. These pests breed in the soft, organic matter that coats the insides of drainpipes. To get rid of them, you must thoroughly remove the slimy residue in the pipes. This cannot be done with common drain cleaners, nor with boiling water or bleach. Instead, there are special products called "drain gels" that are specifically made for this type of drain cleaning. But before using drain gel, solid residues such as hair should be purged from the drains. For this, you should hire a plumber to snake out the lines.

Keep in mind, however, that drain flies can be breeding in other locations where there is rotting organic matter, such as moldy drywall or discarded food waste. In some cases, spillage from an open waste line under a home can provide the environment needed by drain flies.

To determine if the flies are originating in your drains, there is a tape test that you can do. For several consecutive nights, place a piece of duct tape across each of your drain openings, with the sticky side down. Do not cover the entire opening with the tape. Just run a strip of tape across the center of the orifice and leave the sides open. If the flies are breeding in the drains, some of them should be stuck to the tape in the morning. Hopefully, the drain is the source. Otherwise, you'll have the job of searching for other places where breeding might be taking place.

For further information about drain flies, visit http://www.pestproducts.com/fliesdrains.htm.

DEAR BARRY: I am presently in escrow to buy a home, and the mortgage company requires that I buy flood insurance. This must mean that there has been flooding at some time in the past, but I see no evidence of water damage anywhere on the property. So I'm wondering, how serious can the insurance requirement be? Is there any way to find out if the house has been flooded, and if so, what was the extent of the damage? --Kathleen

DEAR KATHLEEN: The requirement for flood insurance does not mean that the house has been flooded in the past. Mortgage companies typically base flood insurance requirements on the location of the property, not on its flood history. If a house is situated in a geological flood plain -- that is, if there is the possibility of flooding every 100 years -- then flood insurance is usually required. In some cases, a property that is partially in a flood plain will require flood insurance, even if the home is on higher ground and not located in the flood plain.

You should check with the county engineering department to determine whether the home you are buying is actually located in a flood zone. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate these insurance requirements with the mortgage company.

To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the Web at www.housedetective.com.

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Q: I closed on a home in July. The builder stated that I have a one-year warranty on the home for repairs. Well, you know the story. The builder can't be reached to make repairs to my home. I haven't had the inspection I was supposed to have after living in the home for 90 days. Also, the builder was to provide a 2/10 warranty for my home, which was returned by the warranty company unprocessed. The 2/10 warranty amount to be provided by the builder is on my HUD-1 closing form.

What legal recourse do I have to get the builder to honor the warranties? I waited until I was 50 years old to buy a home, and now I don't want the house. I need help. I don't know where to turn.

A: Hang on a moment! I understand that buying a house can seem like a scary amount of responsibility, but you already purchased this house. You generally can't return a house as you might return a product purchased at a store. You might be experiencing a good dose of buyer's remorse brought on by the builder's bad behavior.

Are you having major problems with the home? Or are you looking for your builder to perform an inspection of the home and hoping that the builder would fix the issues that came up during the inspection?

If you're not experiencing problems with the home, you could spend some money and find a good residential real estate inspector to go through your home and see if anything comes up, particularly if you don't have a clue about the ins and outs of living in a new home.

Just keep in mind that you'll pay the inspector a fee to go through the home. You will still have to pay someone to fix any items that might come up during that inspection if you determine that your builder is not coming back.

Please talk with a good real estate attorney who has experience with new construction contracts. You'll want to review what was promised to you in terms of the warranty. Then, have your attorney contact the builder to see what's going on.

What you may find, in the current economic climate, is that the builder is either bankrupt, has gone under or slowly going under. If the builder goes out of business, your warranties from the builder will likely be worthless. However, there may be underlying warranties from the materials manufacturers that may protect you somewhat. These manufacturer's warranties might include the windows, the heating and cooling systems, plumbing fixtures, roofing materials and some other components installed in the home.

You have to face the fact that the builder may be unable to provide the warranty you were promised. If that's the case, you own the home and will have to step up and make the necessary repairs to keep the home in good shape.

Buying a home isn't like buying dishtowels at your local department store. You can't just return it. It's only in extreme cases that a buyer has the right to rescind the purchase of a home. These extreme cases may involve fraud on the seller's part. Your attorney can counsel you further.

Q: I am thinking about purchasing a house built in 1909 and I would like some advice. The house is structurally sound, and has very sturdy oak floors and solid walls. The roof is only about 7 years old and is still in good condition. There is a bit of old water damage on the ceilings, but they are more cosmetically ugly than anything else. The wiring is up to date, but the plumbing is in bad condition.

The house has six bedrooms, two bathrooms, two living rooms (both with fireplaces), a sunroom, kitchen and dining room, along with a partial basement and a full attic with a tall ceiling. The owners are asking $70,000. Does this sound like a good purchase?

A: I have no way of knowing whether this house is listed correctly at $70,000. Depending on where the house is located, it could be a fabulous bargain or ridiculously overpriced.

You also have to consider what problems you're having with the plumbing. If you have to dig a new sewer line to the street, build a new septic field or replace all of the plumbing in the house, you could be talking about spending anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000.

You also don't mention how much, if any, land comes with the property. Do you get 10 acres or is it on a tiny city garden lot?

The best way to know whether this house, or any house, is worth the price is to look at what comparable homes in the area have sold for in the past three months. If no homes have sold, then you should look back to sales within the past six months. If you look for sales comps any further back than that, you risk comparing your property unfairly to sales that were closed before the current housing crisis.

Once you do a thorough exploration of the local marketplace, you'll be able to tell whether you're being offered the bargain of a lifetime, a good deal, or something that you should pass on.

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Bridging the price gap between home buyers and sellers can be a challenge in today's market. Sellers, many of whom have a hard time accepting that their home has lost value, often expect to sell for more than buyers are willing to pay.

Buyers, on the other hand, are concerned that home prices could drop further. So, they're making sure that they don't overpay.

There are exceptions to the rule. Very desirable homes in the best locations sometimes sell for over the asking price, particularly if there isn't much inventory of similar homes on the market. Some foreclosure properties at bargain prices are attracting multiple offers. Prices are rising in select areas. Overall, however, it's a still a buyer's market in most parts of the country.

There's not much you can do to convince an unrealistic seller that he should accept your market-price offer. Many of the listings on the market belong to sellers who will sell only if they get a certain price. They may not be able to sell for less because of the size of the mortgage(s) secured against the property. In some cases, sellers bought at the peak and then improved the property. They can't bear to take the loss they would incur if they sold at market price. In other words, these sellers would like to sell, but they won't sell unless they get their price.

Before you make an offer on a listing that's priced over market, try to find out as much as possible about the sellers' motivation, and if there's any flexibility in their price. A lot of time and emotional energy goes into making an offer. Save your efforts for listings where the sellers are motivated. That is, they don't just want to sell -- they need to sell.

Some sellers want to test the waters at a price that's higher than the market will support. They usually feel that someone will appreciate the added value their home offers and pay more for it. However, these sellers will often negotiate with a legitimate buyer who offers a price that is less than the list price.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: To put yourself in the best negotiating position, make sure that your financing is in order and that you are able to show the seller that you are capable of closing the deal. The fallout ratio is high in the current market. Many of these transactions fail to close because the buyers couldn't get financing.

It's always a good idea to be preapproved for the financing you'll need to buy a home before you make an offer. Preapproval involves making a formal loan application, having your credit checked, as well as verifying your funds for down payment and closing costs, and validating your income and employment. Lenders often want to know that you have enough surplus cash to make house payments (mortgage, property taxes and insurance) for two to three months.

Buyers who make an initial low offer and who aren't in competition should make as clean an offer as possible. This means omitting anything that's not necessary. However, you should include contingencies for loan and appraisal approval and an inspection contingency.

It's a good idea to include a copy of your preapproval letter with your offer. If you are approved for a higher price than you are offering, ask your lender or mortgage broker to issue a preapproval letter for the price you're offering.

THE CLOSING: Then be prepared to negotiate. It may take several rounds of counteroffering back and forth to reach a mutually acceptable price.

Dian Hymer is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of "House Hunting, The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers" and "Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer's Guide," Chronicle Books.

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