DEAR BOB: My husband and I married about eight months ago. Shortly thereafter, we bought a wonderful house together. Well, that's not quite correct. I had bad credit before marriage, so the mortgage broker advised taking title in my husband's name alone (he has great income and excellent credit). At the closing, the title company made me sign a quit claim deed so I would have no interest in the house that my creditors could attach. Because my husband made a $100,000 cash down payment on our house, is there any way I can protect my interests in case anything happens to my husband?  more...

Dear Barry,

Before we bought our house, our home inspector tested the toilets and reported that they were "functional." Unfortunately, these tests were just "water" flushes, which failed to tell the whole story. After moving in, we had immediate problems with the toilet in the master bathroom. The fixture works OK with liquids but simply does not dispose of solid waste. In fact, the first time we flushed it, the bowl overflowed you know what onto the floor. Why don't home inspectors check for this?  more...