Question: When purchasing a home, the buyer has second thoughts because the radon inspection came back at twice acceptable levels. We would like to know who gets the deposit if the buyer doesn't get it?

Answer: What kind of radon test? What time of year? Were windows and doors open or closed? What part of the house was tested?

A single test may be wildly inaccurate and all tests may be irrelevant. The reason all tests may be irrelevant is that you may not regularly occupy the area of the house which has a high concentration of radon.

The EPA recommends that "testing device(s) be placed in the lowest level of the home suitable for occupancy. This means testing in the lowest level (such as a basement), which a buyer could use for living space without renovations. The test should be conducted in a room to be used regularly (like a family room, living room, playroom, den or bedroom); do not test in a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room or hallway."

As I have asked before: Is radon a problem if you're not a chain-smoking, basement dweller who has a day job in a uranium mine? How will you know? One study by the EPA found that 49.9 percent all positive tests were false. (See: "Technical Support Document for the 1992 Citizen's Guide to Radon," EPA, Page 3-11)

The EPA's own Scientific Advisory Board said in a letter to the agency that radon testing will produce 4.1 million "unnecessary mitigations" because the process was so uncertain. (May 22, 1992)

So many false positives will cost homeowners billions of dollars in needless repairs -- money that might otherwise be used more productively.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has said that "to date, studies of lung cancer risks from indoor radon exposures are inconclusive, and thus it is only possible at this time to estimate residential risks from miner studies.

"Cigarettes," says NCI, "remain the overwhelming cause of lung cancer among miners and the general population. It is noteworthy that a dramatic reduction of radon-induced lung cancers would occur if people stopped smoking."

Before going further, contact a local college with a physics department or the local health department and ask if they can recommend a professional testing service that does NOT also offer mitigation services -- an obvious conflict of interest. (For details, see my letter to The Washington Post, "Questions About Radon," December 28, 1995)

As to the deposit, who gets it depends on how the document was written. The failure of a radon test as with any other contingency may be grounds to withdraw from the purchase without penalty. Have a legal clinic or attorney take a look at the agreement.

Question: We have a pristine home with four bedrooms; air; hardwood floors; a full, professionally finished basement; 2.5 acres zoned for horses; and 25 minutes from Denver. It's in move-in condition and shows well. We lowered the price substantially about a month ago and as a result have had more showings but no offers.

We are disappointed it hasn't sold yet. It has been on the market a total of nine months with the price lowered three times now. Our broker has done a great job with the website, open houses, newspaper ads and incentives. What can we do to get this property sold so we can move?

Answer: The market in Colorado has become very difficult -- RealtyTrac says that in September the state of Colorado had one foreclosure for every 408 households -- a rate that was up 25 percent from September 2005. The Colorado foreclosure rate is 2.5 times the national average.

The old expression is that a rising tide lifts all boats. It's equally true that an ebbing tide lowers them. In your situation you have a perfectly-attractive home and a broker doing all the right things -- but you are facing a strong buyer's market. The solution to the problem is one of numbers: The more exposure given to the property, the more likely you'll find a buyer.

Also, think about changing the terms of the sale rather than lowering the price: In other words, offer a "seller contribution" to pay some or all of the buyer's closing costs.

Sit down with your broker, review the marketing plan and see if any tweaks are in order. Otherwise, just keep at it.

Question: We're building a new house. We have a closing date in November. However, the builder have not even received an inspection on the framing, electrical and plumbing as of late September.

We started this process back in 2005. We're paying cash draws and have no attorney or bank involvement. Do we have any rights as far as them not making the closing date? Should they be responsible for our rent? Another new house on our same street is much further along and they pulled their permit within a few weeks of ours. I feel like they're taking advantage of us because we don't have legal representation. What are our rights?

Answer: Rather than asking about your rights, ask this question: What's your leverage? You keep paying money, you have no attorney and the odds are that the builder's form agreement does not require completion by a particular date. Moreover, the agreement may prohibit damages against the builder.

To figure out what rights you may have, take your paperwork to an attorney in the state where the property is located.

Question: Have you had any information or record of small animals such as squirrels or raccoons damaging rubber roofing by eating or digging holes in the rubber roofing?

Answer: Squirrels trapped in attics will eat their way out -- it doesn't matter if the roofing material is rubber or shingle. For specifics, contact a licensed pest controller in your area.

Question: I found a duplex and made an offer. The seller made some changes and faxed it over to me 15 days ago and I agreed with the changes verbally. The seller had to produce some paper in a timely manner according to the agreement (lease agreements within five days, termite inspection, survey within 30 days of acceptance, etc.).

At this point we haven't received any papers. Also the seller didn't provide access to the property for our lender's appraiser.

The owner of the property breached the contract already by not providing the lease agreements within five days and I don't feel like buying anything from this person. I'm afraid that the lender will demand money for the work they've done. I didn't pay anything yet, but they have my credit card number. Will the seller be obligated to pay me back the money I spent by breaching the contract? Or it's my loss? What overall options do I have?

Answer: What contract? You say "I agreed with the changes verbally." That doesn't count. Real estate contracts need to be in writing. Since there's no contract, there's nothing to breach.

Question: Has the percentage of qualified first-time buyers for a single family dwelling of a traditional 30-year fixed mortgage loan diminished in the last two years?

Answer: Yes. Figures from Standard & Poors show that the percentage of interest-only and option ARMs totaled 77 percent of all second-quarter loan originations in 2006. A year earlier, the two loan options represented 61 percent of all loan originations.

What these numbers mean is that the proportion of buyers using conventional loans has declined significantly from past years.

Question: Our neighbor planted trees without asking another next door neighbor, and without getting approval from the HOA until after the trees were already in place. The HOA approved the trees after the fact (by a couple months), just to keep their records straight, and because the neighbor had his attorney write a letter requesting that the trees be removed.

The trees are in a neighborhood on a hill with great city light and mountain views, and the three trees which were planted completely obstruct the neighbor's living room views to the east mountains. The neighbor who planted claims he wants and is entitled to privacy, and does not care whether he blocks his neighbor's views. Soon, the neighbor's living room will be dark during the day, due to these trees being a variety which grow wide and high. In this neighborhood, yards with no view sell for about $50,000-$100,000 less than yards with good views.

Answer: You already have an attorney and the HOA involved -- and the HOA said yes to the trees.

What do the HOA documents say about trees? Does a homeowner need permission to plant a tree? Is there any reference to the type of allowable tree species?

Perhaps, before the trees grow further, it would be wise to sell. It's plain that the HOA and the neighbor have spoken.

Question: Can I get financing from some one other than the seller if we have an installment sale? The purpose of the installment sale is to save the seller on capital gains tax.

Answer: I gather you are seeking to buy an investment property, perhaps the rental home where you live.

An installment purchase can make sense for all parties, but there are some cautions:

First, the home must be loan-free, otherwise the current lender may call the mortgage. By itself, the existence of a lease of more than three years in length with a right to purchase can automatically set off a due-on-sale clause. Few, if any, commercial mortgage lenders will fund an installment sale.

Second, there must be a proper written agreement. Each party should use an attorney. The agreement should spell out the terms of the sale and what happens in various situations. For instance, who pays the property taxes? What if the property taxes are not paid? What if a monthly payment is late or missed? Is the loan a form of balloon financing? If so, how much will it be and when is it due? Does the buyer have the right to finance the property and pay off the seller's loan at anytime and without penalty?

Question: We're planning to sell, but not for a few years, hopefully within five years. We recently had some estimates done for new siding and windows and want to make sure we'll get back what we invest.

On average, could you tell me how much new siding and windows add to the price of a home? Our house was built in 1939 and has original redwood siding and the original windows, neither in good shape.

Answer: You may sell in five years -- or you may not. The reason to fix up your house is because the siding and windows are not in good shape, they may deteriorate further and you might enjoy newer items.

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Published: October 20, 2006

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Have a real estate question for Realty Times? Wondering about buying, selling, financing, refinancing or renting? Here's where you can send your question to Peter G. Miller, OurBroker®, a nationally-known columnist, author and reporter. Peter G. Miller has written six books -- including The Common-Sense Mortgage -- a guide with hundreds of thousands of copies in print. Miller was the original creator and host of America Online's Real Estate Center and joined Realty Times in 1998. Send your questions to . Because of the volume of mail received, individual questions cannot be answered privately and not all questions can be used. Published letters may be edited for space and style and all letters become the property of Realty Times upon receipt.