Rachel Purcell is a determined type. An industrial systems engineer by training, Purcell is attracted to complex questions that require precise answers. So when she discovered during the inspection of her new Alamo home that it was full of toxic mold and asbestos - OK, yes, she flinched. But then she got to work.

The solution, it turned out, came rolling in from a factory in Nebraska on seven convoys of trucks. In less than three days, her new 6,000-square-foot house was stacked and bolted together. Within three months, the final work was completed - adding porches and other finish work. She and her family have been living in it for four months.

Q: After purchasing a townhouse, my husband and I soon learned the heat didn’t work. Local heating contractors tell me they are aware of the deficient heat throughout the complex. In addition to the seller failing to disclose this major defect, her real estate agent who sells these units lived in the complex until recently. Replacing the electrical system (gas is not available) won’t be cheap. Estimates are about $30,000. The seller refuses to respond to our letters, and the listing agent refuses to enter into arbitration. Is it worthwhile to recover our costs with a lawsuit against the seller and the realty agent? If we can prove fraud, can we recover punitive damages?

Stan Powell recently ditched his adjustable-rate mortgage for a traditional and far more predictable loan that would lock in his rate for 15 years.”I figure I have about 12 years left before I retire, and it made sense to switch while rates are this low,” said Powell, 55, who lives near Charlottesville, Va. “I did not foresee rates going below where they are now anytime soon.”

Mortgage shoppers are experiencing what one financing expert calls a natural squeamishness when it comes to nontraditional loans, specifically adjustable-rate mortgages that have been closely linked to a recent surge in foreclosures nationwide. Like Powell, many are rediscovering the appeal of fixed-rate mortgages, with monthly payments that stay the same for the life of the loan.

With the sale this summer of his Malibu home, Mel Gibson is proving to be a shrewd player in the real-life version of Monopoly.The actor-director-producer sold his home on 155 feet of beachfront for nearly $30 million. He bought the 7,000-square-foot, Mediterranean-style estate in autumn 2005 for $24 million.

The house, built in 1981, was remodeled shortly before Gibson purchased it. The home has six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a gym, a library, an office, an elevator, a lagoon pool, a cabana, a bar and a wine cellar.

WASHINGTON - Americans signed more contracts to buy previously owned homes in June, an unexpected sign that housing might be starting to stabilize.

The index of signed purchase agreements, or pending home resales, rose 5 percent, to 102.4, after declining a revised 3.7 percent in May, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. It was the first increase in four months. Economists had forecast a decline of 0.5 percent for June.

The report suggests weakness in the housing market might not get much worse. Economists expect housing to gradually exert less of a drag on economic growth through the rest of the year.