Dear Barry,

A home inspector recently pointed out that the trees near my home are lifting one side of the house. A tree trimming company recommends removing them completely, but that would be a terrible loss. They are many years old and I've come to regard them almost as friends. Is there anyway to save these wonderful trees, or is it necessary to sacrifice them? --Vivian

Dear Vivian,

Property owners often resort to tree removal when less drastic measures would suffice.  more...

DEAR BOB: We are considering listing our 48-unit apartment building for sale. So far, we have spoken with two Realtors. We would like to know what sales commission to expect to pay on a $3 million sale. The standard rate for houses in our area is 6 percent commission. One of the Realtors wants a flat commission. The other has some sort of pyramid-style system involving starting out at 10 percent and going down to 3 percent after a certain amount, all combined together. What guidance can you give?  more...

The Fifth Edition of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying and Selling a Home" by Shelley O'Hara and Nancy D. Lewis is just as disappointing as the previous editions. Although the book's coverage of important home buying and selling topics is very complete, the low real estate experience level of the co-authors becomes painfully obvious as the book drones on.

This is a "formula book" where the writers show little creativity and virtually no personal examples to illustrate the hundreds of topics discussed.  more...