Dear Barry,

As a Realtor, I sell a lot of older homes with basement bedrooms. Sellers often can't understand that these don't comply as legal bedrooms because the high windows restrict fire escape. My question is this: When the house is sold "as is," and the new buyers continue to use the illegal bedroom as such, is there liability for the sellers or Realtors in the event of a fire. If so, what kind of disclosure should be made? --Frank

Dear Frank,  more...

There's one thing that buyers and sellers agree on: home inspections are no fun. Buyers and sellers hope for a good end result, but something invariably comes up.

To complicate matters, inspectors sometimes disagree on what is wrong, what should be done to correct a problem or how much it will cost. Finding the right inspector isn't always easy, but it's often critical to resolving an issue.  more...

Whether you are a real estate "newbie" who wants to learn the basic benefits, or an "old pro" who wants to learn advanced investing techniques, "Real Estate Advantages" by CPA Sharon Lechter and attorney Garrett Sutton offers something for every reader.

The book is organized into two sections. The first is about the tax benefits of owning real estate. The second is about the legal strategies, with an especially strong explanation of the best ways to hold title to investment property and why.  more...

DEAR BOB: My mother died in 1988, and dad passed away in 2006. The house was, and still is, in my late mother's name alone. All dad did after mom's passing was continue to pay the property taxes on the house. A couple of other children belong to dad from a prior marriage. What needs to be legally done to clear the title to the house? --Mr. A.M.  more...