Example. You own one home that you bought in 1998. Its FMV now is $110,000, and the current balance on your original mortgage (home acquisition debt) is $95,000. Bank M offers you a home mortgage loan of 125 percent of the FMV of the home less any outstanding mortgages or other liens. To consolidate some of your other debts, you take out a $42,500 home mortgage loan [(125 percent × $110,000) - $95,000] with Bank M. Your home equity debt is limited to $15,000. This is the smaller of:

Q: The Exclusive Right to Represent a Buyer, a document you sign with real state agents, basically protects the agent but what about the buyer? I read there is something called Buyers Bill of Rights -- any truth to it? If so where or who do you get it from?

Blanca P.

A: The exclusive right to represent a buyer entered the American real estate market place about 25 years ago. Obviously, there have always been agents who would represent the buyer, however, it became more common in the 1980s when consumers demanded it. With this came more forms from local Realtor associations and from some state legislators.

Most times, the form is to be used to inform you of your rights as a buyer and to let you know who the agent represents in the transaction. Does it protect the agent exclusively? In the markets I’ve seen, not necessarily. It protects the buyer in that it prevents the agent from revealing your personal or financial information to other agents. When I trained about using such a form, we used the simple phrase: “Just shut up!”

Agents are to hold all your information in the utmost confidence and not share it with anyone in the market place – including their own office, since some markets allow dual agency – unless the buyer client had approved giving out such information.

Is there an official real estate industry-sanctioned Bill of Rights for buyers? It depends on your marketplace. Some companies and agents have devised their own bill of rights for buyers, most of which are about customer service, rather than public edict. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it was proposing such a document in 2002 – but not much came of it. Or at least if it did, they don’t tout it on their Web site or promotional documents.

You do have certain Fair Housing Rights and those can be viewed at www.HUD.gov.