Question: Almost two months ago I made a $260,000 offer on a short sale situation in Arizona. The first mortgage is for $400,000 and the second is for $100,000. I just received news that the holder of the first mortgage will accept the offer if the second signs off. The problem is that interest rates have moved up materially while I've been waiting on the lender. I am not sure I'm still willing to move forward at these higher rates. If my original offer is accepted by both lenders is there a simple, straightforward way to renegotiate to allow for my higher costs? Do I risk the deal just by asking for allowances? Similarly, there seems to be some water damage that was not visible when I made my offer. If the inspection reveals significant damage, how do I proceed?

Answer: You want to buy a property which secures $500,000 in debt for $260,000 (a 48-percent discount), and then you want additional discounts because interest rates are rising and the home has some damage.

In the offer you propose the second lender will lose $100,000 -- its entire investment. The first lender will lose $140,000 ($400,000 less $260,000 -- a 35 percent reduction, not counting foreclosure costs).

You have made good progress in the sense that the first lender has accepted your offer. The second lender has no incentive to accept your proposal because it would get nothing from a short sale and most-likely nothing from a foreclosure. A better choice for the second lender might be to acquire the property for $260,000 from the first lender -- or less, because the second lender can block a short sale and force a foreclosure.

It's just speculation, but I don't think the lenders will greet additional requests for concessions with great enthusiasm, as in "oh joy, now we get a bigger loss on our books." At some point it's easier and quicker to sell the property to a wholesaler then to deal with a retail buyer.

Question: My husband and I are buying our first home. What documents do I have to sign so in case of divorce or if something bad happens? Will I have some rights to this house? Also, must I be present when the documents are signed or can I be overseas?

Answer: The first matter to determine is how title to the property will be held. Typically with married couples a home is owned by you both as a "tenancy by the entireties." This expression means you both have a 100 percent interest in the house -- if one of you dies the other automatically owns the property, there is nothing to inherit.

On the matter of divorce, laws vary by state. For specifics you will need to contact an attorney or legal clinic in the jurisdiction where the property is located.

Lastly, it is common for closings to occur without the physical presence of one or more parties. Documents can be signed in distant locations and then sent by overnight delivery to the closing agent. The closing agent can provide details.

Question: In purchasing a new home, I'm being asked to put 2 percent down for earnest money. However, the sales agent is saying, don't worry we can do a payment plan (earnest will be $5,750). When it came time to write contract, I wrote check for $1,500, however the sales agent wrote $5,750 as received. This made me a little weary because I was only writing check for $1,500. What should I do?

Answer: Did you provide a promissory note for the remaining $4,250? ($5,750 less $1,500) What are the terms of the payment plan? Where is it written out? Is the payment plan included within the written purchase offer? When is the rest of the deposit due?

When you get to closing the settlement provider will show a credit to you for your deposit. How are you supposed to get a credit for $5,750 if you only wrote a check for $1,500?

Does the lender know of this arrangement? The builder?

Please go no further with this transaction until you have had an attorney or legal clinic review the paperwork.

Question: I have a mortgage on my home. I recently put a pool in my home with a pool mortgage. I cannot pay for the pool. What can they do to my home?

Answer: Somehow you financed the installation of a pool on your property. The question is: How was the pool financed?

If the pool was financed with consumer credit and without a lien against the property then the lender will have to sue to collect the debt.

However, if the loan for the pool is a recorded lien then the lender will likely have a right to foreclose on the entire property.

Take this seriously: You could lose your house. For details, please see a local real estate attorney immediately.

Question: How on earth does one fight against a county that states clearly in county ordinances that vacation rentals are allowed without permitting -- yet this same county effectively stops people from renting by creating vicious rumors and forcing people to apply for expensive conditional use permits knowing full well that they will deny them.

I was not breaking any law on the books when I rented my own home out, yet I was treated like a criminal. I just don't understand.

Answer: Governments don't spread vicious rumors, though people in government might. If that's the case you may want to consider a suit for libel.

On the matter of permits, it is not usual for communities to have requirements for rental units which differ from owner-occupant properties. Example: Landlords may have extensive obligations to control lead-based paint while owner-occupants do not. This is foolish because children in owner-occupied homes can also get terribly sick from lead paint. If the goal is to improve the health of all children than all residential properties should meet the same standards. Politically, though, owner-occupants get a pass.

As another example, owner-occupants often get a homeowner exemption which lowers their property taxes while landlords with an identical property do not. The cost to communities for both houses is similar if not identical.

Like many landlords, you may decide that the bias you face makes property ownership not worthwhile. You will then sell your units and invest in something else -- even as local communities scream and moo about the lack of good rental properties and wonder why they cannot attract investors.

Question: I am thinking of entering the real estate field. In addition to the initial class work and tests, do agents have to take re-certification classes?

Answer: Yes. Real estate licenses are typically granted for a given period, say two or three years. Before the license can be renewed the salesperson or broker must take additional classes. Typically classes include such topics as legislative updates, predatory lending, illegal flipping, foreclosures, the state code of ethics and equal housing.

The number of hours required varies by state, but it can also depend on how many years the individual has been licensed and whether he or she is a salesperson or a broker. For specifics, check with your real estate regulator -- a list of state regulators can be found at ARELLO.com.

Question: As a homeowner, how often should I get my home inspected for mold, radon, etc?

Answer: In terms of real estate, the best way to prevent mold is to assure that there are no damp or wet areas within the home. However, even if your house has desert-like conditions be aware that all homes have mold. There are no exceptions. The Environmental Protection Agency has it right when it says that "it is impossible to get rid of all mold and mold spores indoors; some mold spores will be found floating through the air and in house dust."

As the New York Times has reported, experts have found that while "mold and indoor dampness were associated with respiratory problems and symptoms of asthma in certain susceptible people, they found no evidence of a link between mold and conditions like brain or neurological damage, reproductive problems and cancer. They based their conclusions on a review of hundreds of scientific papers and reports but warned that the research was limited and that more studies were needed." (See: Panel Finds Mold in Buildings Is No Threat to Most People, May 26, 2004)

Rather than getting a home inspected, individuals are probably best served by a complete medical evaluation to see if mold is an issue at all.

As to radon, there has been a considerable effort by the radon-industrial complex to create vast worries regarding an invisible, odorless gas that's created by natural decay in the ground. Unless you're a chain smoking uranium miner who lives in a basement with closed windows, concerns about radon are likely to be overblown.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has reported that "to date, studies of lung cancer risks from indoor radon exposures are inconclusive, and thus it is only possible at this time to estimate residential risks from miner studies.

"Cigarettes," says NCI, "remain the overwhelming cause of lung cancer among miners and the general population. It is noteworthy that a dramatic reduction of radon-induced lung cancers would occur if people stopped smoking."

If you do elect to get radon testing, make certain that the party who conducts the tests does not also offer mitigation services. The potential for conflict is obvious.

For background -- and to see how radon was promoted into an official concern with lots of money at stake -- please see Leonard Cole's book, Element of Risk, The Politics of Radon.

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Published: July 10, 2008

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Have a real estate question for Realty Times? Wondering about buying, selling, financing, refinancing or renting? Here's where you can send your question to Peter G. Miller, OurBroker®, a nationally-known columnist, author and reporter. Peter G. Miller has written six books -- including The Common-Sense Mortgage -- a guide with hundreds of thousands of copies in print. Miller was the original creator and host of America Online's Real Estate Center and joined Realty Times in 1998. Send your questions to . Because of the volume of mail received, individual questions cannot be answered privately and not all questions can be used. Published letters may be edited for space and style and all letters become the property of Realty Times upon receipt.