A noisy factory; a junk-filled vacant lot; a constantly barking dog; noisy neighbors; a smelly sewerworks; a house where illegal drugs are sold; a house of prostitution; a noisy night club.

What do all these situations have in common?

If you said they are all nuisances, you earn an "A."

Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.  more...

DEAR BOB: I take care of my 85-year-old widowed neighbor. She has no family other than a nephew she has never met who lives in Europe. She has willed her home to him. I told her I would like to buy the house from her now and he can inherit the money instead. The home is about 40 years old and in original condition. I would let her live her life there and I would manage the property. What is the best way to handle this and how can I avoid taxes? Or is it better if she wills the property to me and I pay the nephew at the time of death? --Karen C.  more...

DEAR BOB: Our home is in a depressed area where there are lots of houses for sale but few buyers. We had to move due to illness and unemployment. After listing our home for sale with no offers, we asked the lender to accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure. The lender wrote back, "It is against our policy to accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure." We had to stop making mortgage payments because we could no longer afford them, so why does the lender let our vacant old house fall into vandalism and foreclosure instead of accepting our deed in lieu of foreclosure? --Wallace C.  more...

Ann and William Manderville and their relatives Roseann and Rick Rinear sought to buy vacant land that could be subdivided to build two adjoining houses, one for each couple. Their buyer's agent, Marilyn Fowler, found a property in the MLS (multiple listing service) described as "all useable 2.62 acres county states 1 acre min. lot size could be split."

Fowler telephoned the listing agent, Russ Clark, to confirm the lot could be split. He said it could. Two days later, the buyers offered to purchase the lot for $235,000. The sellers accepted.  more...

DEAR BOB: Due to my husband's job location change, we had to sell our house in Michigan where the home-sale market is very slow. His employer offered no relocation benefits, but at least my husband has a job. After listing our home on the market for six months with no purchase offers, we were unable to keep up the mortgage payments and defaulted. The realty agent suggested a "short sale" for less than the mortgage balance. Rather than foreclose, the mortgage lender agreed to accept a purchase offer for about $16,000 less than the mortgage balance.  more...

If you are a home buyer, homeowner, real estate agent or involved with the mortgage industry, "Mortgage Rip-Offs and Money Savers" by Carolyn Warren will be an eye-opening read. The author knows the residential mortgage business as an insider, having worked in retail and wholesale lending as a bank mortgage loan officer for a direct lender, a mortgage brokerage, a finance company and a nationwide home-loan lender.  more...

DEAR BOB: I was divorced over 25 years ago. My ex-husband and I held title to our home together. Since he didn't show up in court, the judge ordered in the divorce decree that my husband "quitclaim" our property to me. But he never signed the quitclaim deed. My attorney said it wasn't necessary because of the judge's ruling in the divorce decree. My adult daughter is concerned that because my ex-husband never signed the quitclaim deed, he could, after my passing, come back and claim half of the property. Should I take any action now? --Barbara V.

DEAR BARBARA: Yes.  more...

DEAR BOB: My son bought a house with his girlfriend. They are now separated. Is there an inexpensive way to get her name off the mortgage other than refinancing? --Cathy J.

DEAR CATHY: No. Mortgage lenders will rarely agree to remove a co-borrower's name from a mortgage even when that person no longer lives in the property or makes the mortgage payments.

Purchase Bob Bruss reports online.

But why get the ex-girlfriend's name off the mortgage?  more...

What is the best investment you ever made? Common stocks? Bonds? A small business? Your house? Other real estate?

Chances are your most profitable investment has been your personal residence. If you have yet to purchase your own home, today's "buyer's market" is an excellent time to do so.

However, if you already own your house, why not take advantage of current market conditions to buy one or more houses as rental investments?  more...

DEAR BOB: My parents died within four days of each other in 2005. In their will, their house was left to me. I am their only child. There is still a mortgage, which I have been paying. Can I have the title to this property changed to my name now although there is a mortgage? I am not able to pay off the mortgage balance. How do I handle this situation, as I want to have the title placed in my name and my husband's name because we are living in the house and will want to sell it someday?  more...

L. Walter Quinn III and Terry Quinn obtained a home mortgage from Provident Bank.  more...

"Staging Your Home to Sell" by Julie Dana and Marcia Layton Turner is a "must read" new book for home sellers and their real estate agents. Especially useful in the current buyer's market, it reveals details how to increase a homes net sales price and shorten its time on the market for sale by "staging."  more...

DEAR BOB: What is the difference between PMI (private mortgage insurance) and MIP (mortgage insurance premium)? After paying nine years on my FHA mortgage, I have tried to get my MIP canceled. But I have been told I can't get it removed. I paid $70,000 for the house and it now appraises for $137,000 so MIP clearly is not needed by the FHA. How can I get my MIP canceled? --Glenda G.  more...

DEAR BOB: Our 25-year-old daughter has just landed her first job in New York City. Her pay is dismal, but she has about $80,000 for a down payment on a condominium or cooperative apartment in Brooklyn. My husband and I want to help her out. But we don't think co-signing a mortgage is a good idea. Can we be her mortgage company and loan her the mortgage money at market rate? I fear she won't qualify for a loan as she earns only $32,000 annually.  more...

Editor's note: Robert Bruss is temporarily away and will return next week. The following column from Bruss' "Best of" collection first appeared Sunday, June 25, 2006.

Not too long ago, a neighbor asked if I knew where our sewer and storm drains are located. He apparently wants to adjust the drainage on his property to drain into the public storm sewer drain, which I knew adjoins our lots.

After that brief conversation, I checked the legal description for my property. All it says is the city has a public utility easement along the northerly 5 feet of my property.  more...