As a place to start, check with a licensed engineer.

Question: An apartment building roof leaks. The tenants have complained but insufficient repairs have been made and the roof continues to leak. Tenant property has been damaged. The owner refuses to pay any damages and says such costs should be covered by tenant's insurance. What should the tenants do?

Answer: There are two issues here. First, tenants have a reasonable expectation that under normal circumstances a roof will not leak. If a leak does appear it's the owner's job to fix the roof whether or not the tenants have renters' insurance.

Second, even if tenants have renters' insurance landlords may still be responsible for damages.

In this instance, tenants must pay their rent in full and on time. However, they may also want to contact local housing inspectors regarding the roof and petition in small claims court to recover such damages, if any, as may be appropriate. Bring documentation regarding repair requests and damages to the hearing, and ask a housing inspector to testify.

Question: I am interested in obtaining a real estate salesperson's license. What are real estate agencies are looking for when hiring a person with no experience.

Answer: The great thing about the profession of real estate is that it's open to all. Brokers want salespeople who can produce business and produce it ethically.

Your first step is to complete the basic education class required before you can take a salesperson's license exam. After you pass the exam, you can then affiliate with a broker. As to which broker, as someone new to the business look for firms which offer classes and or mentoring -- and the opportunity to make money.

For a good look at the industry and the practical needs required to be successful, read Your Successful Real Estate Career by Kenneth W. Edwards. This is a clever, usable, and often-funny guide to the joys and pitfalls of working in real estate, a guide every salesperson should read and re-read.

Question: I am a broker and had a recent situation where I was the listing agent for a property. Through the negotiating process, it was brought to my attention that there were 2 contingency situations behind our offer. Meaning -- Buyer A (who was interested in my listing) had a home to sell (making them Seller A) which just went under contract with Buyer B. Buyer B was also Seller B with a property to sell. Seller B just went under contract on her home with Buyer C. We never did find out about Buyer C's situation.

My sellers negotiated the offer (knowing about the contingencies) and we went to escrow. After the fact, my sellers became very excited about the ramifications of the 2 contingencies. They demanded that I provide them all the information about the other properties (i.e. address, sales price, agent, title, closing date, etc.). They stated that they should have the right to know because it impacted their transaction. If one contract fails, they all fail. The domino effect...

What right did my sellers have to any of the other transactions and how much, if any, information were they entitled to without jeopardizing the privacy of the other parties?

Answer: You have gone to escrow so this transaction -- at least -- is resolved.

But your sellers bring up a good question. They surely have the right to know about a requirement from their purchaser which may impact their sale. As to the purchaser's buyer, that's a different issue because there is no contract between your sellers and the purchaser's buyers.

Probably the best way to resolve cascading transactions is to have a contingent sale agreement. In general terms it would work like this: The buyers offer to purchase the property subject to the sale of their home. The seller says great but, if the seller gets another offer from a ready, willing and able purchaser, the first buyer must either go through with the sale or drop out (and get their deposit back).

This is a complex arrangement, so obtain proper contract language from a real estate attorney.

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