President Bush’s plan to help strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure could ease the mushrooming subprime mortgage problem, housing experts say. But they caution that the Bay Area stands to benefit significantly less than other sections of the nation because of the region’s off-the-charts home prices.

The key part of Bush’s initiative, unveiled Friday at the White House, is a new program to allow borrowers who can’t meet rising monthly mortgage payments to refinance into loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration.

The program, called FHASecure, is limited to people with good credit records except for late payments after their adjustable mortgages switched from low teaser rates to higher permanent rates.

Q: My mother is moving into a 40-unit independent-living complex. The two-bedroom unit is very much like a condo, except the building is maintained by the management and a monthly fee is required for meals and, I assume, maintenance of the common areas.

We would be liable for anything inside the unit - electrical outlets, heating, plumbing under the sinks and toilet, etc. We were told that there should be a building inspection, but what does an inspector inspect besides the above? And do we really need an inspection?