Editor's note: Robert Bruss passed away on Sept. 26, 2007. This was one of the last real estate columns he wrote. Inman News is publishing Bob's last work as a final salute to the nation's most well-known real estate writer.

DEAR BOB: I am a beginner in real estate investing. Is it a good idea to get my real estate sales license? Or should I skip being a real estate agent and only be a real estate investor? What about being both an agent and an investor?  more...

George and Paule Olsher have owned their 60-space mobile-home park since 1991. One of their residents, Ernest Castaneda, 17, returned about 1 a.m. to the mobile home where he lived with his sister and grandmother, Joyce Trow.

After letting his sister know he was home, Castaneda went outside on the front porch. Shots were fired by alleged gang member Manuel Viloria from mobile-home space 23 across the street. Castaneda was hit in the back and severely injured.  more...

DEAR BOB: A friend of mine was going to purchase a house. She signed a contract agreeing to move forward with the closing procedures. She had put $500 down and had a professional home inspection completed. Her mother was battling cancer and died. She then contacted the Realtor and backed out of buying the house. Now the seller and his Realtor are threatening to sue her for not buying the house. Is it true she can be sued? --Jenna B.  more...

If you are involved with buying, selling or brokering houses and condominiums but you don't enjoy getting involved in lawsuits, "The No-Lawsuit Guide to Real Estate" by Realtor Barbara Nichols will show you how to stay out of court. The author has been involved with hundreds of real estate cases, primarily as a consultant and expert witness, so she is well-qualified to advise how to prevent realty lawsuits.  more...

DEAR BOB: About six months ago, I completed an Internal Revenue Code 1031 tax-deferred exchange, but I have not been able to rent the acquired house due to an oversupply of rentals in my area. Homeowners are having difficulty selling and are trying to rent while waiting for the sales market to improve. I am running out of money for my mortgage payments. Can I move into the house and rent my old home, which I can rent cheaply and still have a positive cash flow? Would I lose my IRC 1031 tax savings? --Dee D.  more...

DEAR BOB: As a Realtor for 19 years, I do not agree with your comment that a listing agent who refuses to hold open houses is lazy. A more appropriate response would have been for the home seller to ask that agent to prove by his success record he can sell property of that type without open houses. I have sold hundreds of condos and I never hold open houses. I feel they are an imposition on the neighbors, especially within gated communities. I work with clients who are often elderly widows, single women, and mothers with newborns.  more...

Despite all the negative publicity about the so-called "mortgage meltdown" with more than 100 major mortgage lenders either filing bankruptcy or being unable to fund their home loan commitments, low- and no-down-payment PMI (private mortgage insurance) mortgages are readily available if you have steady income and good credit.

According to the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, a trade group, the use of PMI is up 40 percent during the first half of 2007 from the same period in 2006.  more...

DEAR BOB: We have rented out a legal apartment in our primary residence for 17 years. My wife and I intend to sell our house and shelter $500,000 of our gain. In order to do so, must we be "tenant free" for 24 of the last 60 months? --Bruce C.

DEAR BRUCE: No. You can sell your principal residence with the tenant still living in the apartment.

Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.  more...

DEAR BOB: How does adverse possession work? I have been using about 20 feet of the vacant lot next door for the last 14 years. I tried to contact the owners, but my letters were always returned unopened. --Pam C.  more...

Kim Sisemore, a mother of a 3-year-old daughter, is licensed to operate a family day-care center for up to 14 children in her residence. She applied for a home loan from Master Financial Inc. to enable her to buy a house suitable for her day-care business.

Although Sisemore was otherwise qualified for the mortgage, Master Financial rejected her application, stating in writing it "will not make loans with home day care if the home day-care income is required to qualify."  more...

Whether you are just getting started or are an "old pro" real estate investor, you will benefit from the many real-life examples in "Making Big Money Investing in Foreclosures Without Cash or Credit, Second Edition" by Peter Conti.  more...

DEAR BOB: We just had a major house fire with approximately $165,000 paid by our homeowners insurance company for repairs. Before the fire, the house was worth about $250,000. The house was completely redone with new wiring, plumbing, heat, air conditioning, drywall, carpeting and a new kitchen. It was basically gutted inside and out. What effect will this insurance claim have on my resale value? If I were a buyer, I wouldn't be interested in this home. However, as the owner I know the house is actually like new.  more...

You've been looking for months for your first home, or you want to upgrade to a nicer home in a better community. It's a great time to buy a home, everybody tells you.

Finally, you find the ideal home for sale, which has most of what you want (there is no such thing as the "perfect home.")

Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.  more...

DEAR BOB: What is your opinion on my pulling out as much equity as possible from my home by taking out a negative-amortization mortgage in order to have retirement income 10 years from now? I am 65 but still work, have good income and a good FICO (Fair Isaac Corp.) credit score. My son says "no." What do you think? --Carmen S.

DEAR CARMEN: I think you have a very smart son. Why in the world would you take out a negative-amortization mortgage where you will owe more than you borrowed? That makes no sense.  more...

DEAR BOB: My husband died over a year ago, but his name remains with mine on the deed to my house and a few rental properties. Is there any advantage or disadvantage of leaving his name on these deeds? --Dorothy R.

DEAR DOROTHY: If title to your home was held with your late husband in joint tenancy with right of survivorship (or tenancy by the entireties in states where allowed) or in a revocable living trust, it is a very simple matter to clear the titles of his name. Probate court interference is not required.  more...