Let real estate agent's managing broker know of poor performance

Q. My husband and I have been interested in a house for quite awhile. It is a nice house that needs work, so we made a reasonable offer. However, someone else made a higher offer about the same time, and theirs was accepted.Since then, that offer has dragged with the banks, and the seller's agent assured me twice that he would call our agent once the seller gave up on the other buyer. Now I have learned the house is going into a short sale and someone else's offer is expected.Our agent has repeatedly asked the seller's agent to keep her updated; however, the seller's agent never returns her call. This week, he hasn't returned both messages I left for him. I spoke to his supervising broker, who said he'd call me, but he didn't.We're wondering what's going on. We've made it clear we've prequalified for a mortgage and we're ready to offer more than we originally did, yet the seller's agent basically refuses to deal with us and our agent.We are a different race from the seller's agent, and we think from the current owner, and we're beginning to wonder if that might have something to do with his ignoring us. Do we have any recourse if a seller's agent refuses to communicate with us or our agent?A. I'm getting lots of mail lately from would-be buyers and sellers who complain that once a property goes into a short sale, there are all sorts of obstacles, delays, lack of communication and the like. Perhaps you've simply run into that. But failure of a broker to return phone calls has (in more normal times) sometimes been considered proof of unlawful discrimination. You may want to look at the Federal Fair Housing Law on HUD's Web site, and at the state laws against discrimination also.Let that agent's managing broker know if you plan on filing a complaint anywhere.My wife and I are considering a permanent move to Florida. We would buy a manufactured home located in a retirement community on a lot we would rent as part of our homeowners association fees. Is this eligible for the government stimulus tax credits?A. Either the first-time buyer's or the repeat buyer's tax credit is intended for the purchase of a principal residence. The IRS uses the same definition of principal residence it does elsewhere in the tax code. Your main home is the place you live most of the time. It can be, says the IRS, a "House, Houseboat, Mobile home, Cooperative apartment, or Condominium."For repeat buyers, the tax credit is 10 percent of purchase price, with a limit of $6,500.I own a second home I have been renting to my daughter and her friend for five years. I have been depreciating the home as rental property.I would like to give her the home. Can you tell me what, if any, tax ramifications there may be if I just turned it over to her? There is no mortgage on the home.A. You can give your daughter more than a million dollars with no federal gift tax due. It comes off what you could leave her tax-free at your death.She also takes over your cost basis, which has, of course, been reduced each year by the depreciation you claimed.What are the risks of buying a foreclosed house? Do you recommend buying a foreclosed house as my first home?A. Here are a few of the risks:First, the unhappy homeowners who are losing their house do not have to let you in to inspect it. You'll have to buy without seeing the interior, which just might be trashed.Next, the lending institution that is forcing the foreclosure auction will usually bid the amount due on its mortgage. You'd have to bid more to win the property. If you have the winning bid, you are - in most areas - required to pay some or all of the price in cash then and there. Professional investors often have a line of credit lined up and ready to go.Lastly, you should do the whole thing under the guidance of a real estate lawyer, for help with the procedures and make sure you're not buying any legal problems.If, on the other hand, you're asking about buying REO, "real estate owned" by a lender that has already taken the property at a foreclosure auction, that's different. For that, financing is sometimes available, but judging from my mail, the process can be lengthy and frustrating.bull; Edith Lank will respond to questions sent to 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester, N.Y. 14620 (please include a stamped return envelope), or readers may e-mail ehlank@aol.com.2010, Creators Syndicate Inc.