Q: My husband and I own a house in Florida where I live and work. He has a job in another state where he lives. We may sell the Florida house in several years. The house is in both our names. Do we both have to live in the house the specified time to claim that $500,000 tax exemption?

Jeannie A.

Naples, Fla.

A: Yes. But you both don’t have to live in the house as your principal residence at the same time, if that is a problem.

With home prices softening and sales volumes sagging in many markets, real estate appraisers say that pressure on them to inflate values has reached epidemic proportions.A new national survey found that 90 percent of appraisers reported that mortgage brokers, realty agents, lenders and even consumers have pressured them to raise property valuations to enable deals to go through. That percentage is up sharply from a parallel survey conducted in 2003, when 55 percent of appraisers reported attempts to influence their findings and 45 percent reported “never.” Now the latter category is down to just 10 percent.

 Q:I have lived in my apartment now for four years. I have recently gone through a financial problem and have been paying my rent late with the late payment fee for the past couple of months.

Yesterday the manager said that the owners wanted to serve us a 60-day notice because our rent has been late. My boyfriend has gotten another job so now we will be able to pay rent on time. How can they do this when they have been accepting the late rent paid along with the late fee?

 Nearly six years after opening as rentals, 73 Monte Vista Villas units in Union City are up for sale as condos.

Built in 2001, the project included not only the condos but also townhouses, which were sold right away.

However, the developer, Pinn Bros., intended to sell the condos eventually and therefore built them to condo standards, a spokeswoman said.

As the leases neared expiration, Pinn Bros. received approval to convert the rentals to condos. The renovated units went on the market in September.

WASHINGTON - With home prices softening and sales volumes sagging, real estate appraisers say pressure on them to inflate values has soared.

A new survey of the national appraisal industry found that 90 percent of appraisers reported that mortgage brokers, realty agents, lenders and even consumers have pressured them to raise property valuations to enable deals to go through. That percentage is up sharply from a 2003 survey, when 55 percent of appraisers reported attempts to influence their findings and 45 percent reported “never.” Now the latter category is down to just 10 percent.