Lead Paint in Your Home

Prior to 1978, lead was a common additive in many household paints. It was banned that year because it can cause significant health problems in children and in adults.

Common Home Pests

Don't lose the value of your real estate investment to small critters!

Securing Your Home From Thieves (and Identity Thieves) While You Travel

Thieves of all kinds—those looking for your identity and those simply after your spare cash—tend to break into houses that look unoccupied.

Trouble Signs Indicating Poor Home Construction

Even newly built homes are rarely perfect.

Home Defects: Sue the Seller?

If the home you've bought was previously owned, you probably knew at the time of purchase that it wasn't in perfect condition. But what if something was wrong with the property at the time you bought it, and someone -- the seller, the seller's agent, or the inspector -- could or should have told you about it but didn't? Such problems may come to light days, weeks, or years later, leaving you wondering whether you should have to shoulder the entire financial burden.

New-Home Defects: Holding Your Builder Responsible

Were you among those unhappy buyers of newly built homes who discovered, upon moving or soon after, that not everything was in working order -- or even complete? Find out how to assert your rights and get the builder to finish or fix the job.

Wind and Rain Damage to Fences in California: Sources of Recovery

If your fence is damaged by wind or rain in California, you may be able to get reimbursed for repair costs.

Uh oh, I bought contaminated land: Who must pay cleanup costs?

Only if the seller knew about the problem and lied to you might you be off the hook for cleanup costs.

Dealing With Seller Fraud Discovered After Purchase of Vacant Land

Did you buy land that had hidden toxicity, easements, liens, or other issues? Here's how to claim compensation.

Keeping Costs Down When Suing Over Construction Defects

Negotiation, exerting pressure based on a home inspector's report, and mediation are all possible ways to avoid going to court over a contractor or builder's construction errors.

Suing a Bankrupt Home Builder for Construction Defects

How do you get money out of a home contractor or builder who has none?

I want to sue my home builder over defects; can I get around the contract's arbitration clause?

Unfortunately, arbitration clauses are generally enforceable -- in other words, a court will uphold them without finding that it was unfair for the developer to have included them in your contract in the first place.

Can I sue my home builder for recently discovered construction defects that happened years ago?

The effect of statutes of limitations and statutes of repose on construction-defect lawsuits.

Who can I sue for new-home defects: architect and contractors, or only the developer?

If your contract is solely with the developer, that may be the only party you can sue for home defects -- but that's not the end of the story.

Shouldn't the Home Seller Have Told Us Someone Died Here?

How much information a real estate seller legally needs to provide about past deaths on the property.

Can I Sue My Home Inspector for Defects Left Out of the Report?

As a homeowner, do you have any chance of recovery from your home inspector to cover the cost of repairs for defects the inspector didn't warn you of?