Welcome to Real Estate Live, an online discussion of the Washington area housing market with Post Real Estate editor Maryann Haggerty.

Maryann has been with The Post for 18 years and has served as real estate editor for the last five years. She's been a business and real estate editor and reporter for about 25 years. In all that time, she still hasn't figured out where you can find a lovely but inexpensive house in a charming neighborhood.

She's online twice a month to answer your questions about the local housing market -- from condos and investment properties to contracts and mortgages.

For more on local real estate, visit washingtonpost.com's Real Estate section.

The transcript follows.

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Elizabeth Razzi: Hello, everybody. It looks like the hot weather has driven people indoors to their computers, because we have lots of good questions today.

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Arlington, Va.: I'm getting ready to buy a condo in the Arlington area (my first real estate purchase) and have been receiving all sorts of unsolicited advice. Some family and friends are saying that real estate prices are plummeting and that I should wait until next year to buy otherwise my condo will just lose value.

I'm thinking that real estate values in Arlington seem to have dipped slightly already but aren't likely to take a nosedive the way they might in the far outer suburbs and that by next year, mortgage rates might be higher.

Is there a reason to hold out on a purchase now? Can I be certain that conditions will be much more favorable next year as opposed to now?

Elizabeth Razzi: You raise all the right questions. Unfortunately, nobody has the answers. If anyone could accurately call a bottom to the market, you could be sure they would be buying investment properties right now. There are a few ways to hedge your bets, though. If you buy a condo in a building that is mostly sold out, you face a shorter period in competition with the developer. And if you buy a unit that's big enough to accommodate your needs for five years or more (i.e., with an extra bedroom or a den) that can help you ride out the storm.

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Fredericksburg, Va.: Real estate values increased dramatically from about 2002 to 2005. Ostensibly, the value rise was due to the effects of cheap money and easy credit enabling consumers to bid up the prices. Now that interest rates have clicked up some (but not too bad) and easy credit is being curtailed. When or If the correction in values will occur, and if so, by how much? Thanks.

Elizabeth Razzi: The correction is occurring right now; the question is when it will end. And it's not possible to know how low values will go. Even the best economists find themselves revising numbers as events unfold.

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Dupont Circle, D.C.: Every improvement I make to my condo, I keep resale value in mind. But I think I'm going overboard. For example, I stared at shower heads in Home Depot for 20 minutes trying to figure out which would look better IF we renovated the bathroom someday. Nutty!

What sort of balance should we strike in terms of this? Is it wise to always keep resale value in mind when doing any upgrade? If not, what are, say, the top five times we should?

Elizabeth Razzi: Ah, congratulations for catching yourself on the edge! Take a breath, and remember that it's okay to buy something for your home just because you like it. Rainfall shower head or multiple jets? Buy the one you like. Where you have to keep an eye on resale value is when your choices start to be more individual, and more expensive to change. Brilliant cobalt blue appliances, for example, may put off some buyers, so it's safer to buy stainless steel. Just keep your eye on the big picture -- and enjoy.

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D.C.: Between September and November, which month is peak for when more homes start hitting the market again? I know spring is peak, but I hope to be buying this fall, or even late summer. I know December is dead, but maybe more so for sales rather than buying?

Elizabeth Razzi: There's usually a little surge in the market, both in listings and sales, in September, and then things slide through the rest of the year. We looked at the numbers a little more closely in a Local Address column a few weeks ago...which we'll have for you shortly.

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washingtonpost.com: Weathering the Dog Days of Home Sales, (Post, June 10)

Elizabeth Razzi: There's that column on summer and fall sales.

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Buckeye, Ariz.: How is the market in the Phoenix metro area?

Maryann Haggerty: Darned if I know. You live a lot closer, don't you?

Anyway, sorry to be late there, folks. I'll try to get caught up to Elizabeth!

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Fairfax, Va.: My husband and I own a townhouse and are thinking about trading up in our neighborhood. The market is really different from the one in which we bought (i.e., instead of just putting a contract on every home that sort of fits our criteria, we can be choosy). How many homes should a person in that situation look at?

Elizabeth Razzi: Just look until you find the home that suits your needs at a price you can afford. What if that happens to be the first one you visit? It can happen. And if it does, just take a little time for some comparison shopping, and ask your real estate agent for sales prices of comparable homes, and arrive at what you think is a fair price.

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Forestville, Md.: Hi, Maryann. Will close on a home in Fort Washington, Md., at the end of the month. I would like to take down two walls to make the first floor more open. Wondering if I will need a permit to do so? Also, will an open floor plan increase the value of my home?

Elizabeth Razzi: What you need is the advice of a structural engineer -- or at least a very skilled and reputable contractor, or your open floor plan could end up being open to the sky. Some interior walls support the upstairs and roof; others don't. And, yes, you need a building permit, too.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi, Maryann. I feel like my husband and I are in a real bind. We currently rent an 850 sq. ft. one-bedroom apartment in Adams Morgan for about $1,350/mo, utilities included. The building has nice amenities like a gym, 24-hour front desk and a roof deck.

We want to be homeowners, but it seems like everything in our neighborhood that is comparable to our current place is going to cost us $2,800+ with mortgage, taxes, utilities, condo fees, etc. Which just seems like so much to pay for a one-bedroom condo!

We are very willing to look outside our area (and scale back on amenities -- we don't need a roof deck), but we don't drive, so we need to be within short walking distance to metro, grocery store, etc. Also, my husband travels a lot, so I'd like to be somewhere I feel safe walking alone at night.

Are we doomed to be renters forever?

Right now my current plan is to try and save up for a large down payment, but that will take years. (I guess not buying a home until you are 40 isn't that bad, right?)

So far, it seems like we are searching for a needle in a haystack!

I am open to any advice as to where to look ... but maybe large one bedroom condos near the Metro for under $300,000 just don't exist in D.C.

Maryann Haggerty: Rents are out of whack with purchase prices in some market segments. However, you may be able to find something in your price range if the seller is willing to negotiate--but then again, maybe not. $300,000 is one of those price break points. And I doubt you'll find something in a luxury building at that point. But look in older buildings; you may have some luck.

Elizabeth Razzi: You might also ask your landlord if he or she would be willing to sell your current apartment to you. Some investors aren't even bothering to put their condos on the market, figuring there aren't enough takers. You never know.

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Springfield, Va.: Recently the army decided that it would migrate close to 10,000 workers in Springfield area as opposed to Ft Belvoir without violating BRAC law. Certainly this is good for Springfield. What kind of impact will this have on the real estate market? Will we see some investors buying in properties to accommodate the surge of people coming in by 2011?

Maryann Haggerty: Those are jobs moving, not people. And they aren't moving far. All predictions are that people will just shift their commutes, not their homes. So the concern is rally about traffic.

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Alexandria, Va.: My wife and I are contemplating selling our townhouse and moving into a single family home after Labor Day. Now, I know you don't have a crystal ball, but how many years would you guess it will take us to break even on the new home? We plan on staying in the area for three to five years.

Elizabeth Razzi: Five years is better than three years, which I think should be the minimum time you plan to stay in a home, even in a strong market. It costs a lot of money to sell a home. The real estate commission alone will cost 5 or 6 percent, so values would have to go up by that much just to break even.

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Townhome Community in Atlanta: Last year I bought in a townhome community that has a majority of it's owners as retirees who aren't going though and updating the 30 year old units. Only about two to three out of the 50 go on the market every year, but as we're in a great location and the space is good value for the money, they are being snapped up by young professionals like me who are going through and making the spaces more modern.

Since I've bought my place, I've updated the two full upstairs bathrooms (they were brown and orange), repaired walls, replaced all the interior doors, had to have improperly applied 30 year old wall paper removed, cable outlets installed in the upstairs, updated light fixtures/switch plates/air vents, restored the dental molding, and generally undecorated the 70s from the house. All told I've spent about $13,000 (I paid $250 ... I know, this is why I moved from D.C. to Atlanta).

I did all this because I thought I would be here for a long time to come, but am now faced with a potential transfer to another part of the country. What are the chances I will be able to recoup most of the money I spent on updates after only a year and a half? A unit with a similar floor plan to mine hasn't sold in 4 years and there are no other units in the complex currently for sale. However as I have the largest available floor plan and now all these modernization touches, I would be trying to sell as the most expensive unit ever in the complex. I'm particularly worried about real estate appraisers and agents looking for comps. Is any of this taken into consideration or do I just need to realize that since I won't be in the place as long as I planned I should be prepared to lose money at this point?

Maryann Haggerty: I'm sorry, but it sounds as if you might have over-improved for your neighborhood. The process of finding comps relies very very heavily on previous sales. An appraiser really doesn't care about how nice the dentil molding is.

Elizabeth Razzi: Ouch. The only consolation is that, if you price it within range of the comparables, maybe it will sell faster. Good luck.

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Washington, D.C.: Today American Home Mort. closed its doors. I currently have a mortgage with the company and was curious to know your thoughts on what might happen or any steps I should take regarding my mortgage.

Maryann Haggerty: First and most important: Keep paying!

The odds are that American Home doesn't actually own your mortgage anyway--almost all morts are sold into the secondary market. And you have a contract with whomever now owns that loan

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Washington, D.C.: Your "Little Kid on the Block" story has me a bit worried. I just signed a contract on a condo in Columbia Heights, where there are tons of new condos planned. I look at it as a starter place and hope to sell or rent it out in the medium-term.

Do you think I'll still be going up against developers in Columbia Heights in five years? Will it help that my place is probably about the smallest, cheapest apartment in the neighborhood, or will I be hurt because I can't compete with the square footage the new construction offers?

washingtonpost.com: Missed that story? Read it here: Little Kid on the Block, (Post, July 28).

Maryann Haggerty: I really, rally can't look five years in the future. Except for one thing: There aren't going to be any developers still selling the SAME new units 5 years from now. They will have gone under or changed their business strategy long before that.

So the question is whether there will continue to be demand in that neighborhood, and whether developers will continue building new supply. These things tend to go in cycles. Right now credit is tightening up. Without credit, developers won't be able to build. So that should constrain supply in the coming part of the cycle.

Elizabeth Razzi: Who knows? In five years you could have people elbowing each other to get in front of the line for your condo. Just when people think they know where the real estate market--or the stock market or any other type of market--it has a way of changing.

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Falls Church, Va.: I'm wondering why any homeowner in their right mind would want to put their house on the market at this time other than they have no choice because of job relocation? Let's say their financial situation is in good standing, why would they put themselves in losing money? Isn't that a poor investment decision? I could understand for the homeowners who are in foreclosure or at the point can't afford and in debt to their ears? Could you explain?

Maryann Haggerty: Sure, I can explain: Because they want to moved for reasons besides job relocation. Possibly they've had kids. Possibly the kids have moved out.

And for many people, selling now won't mean losing money--if they have owned the house long enough to have built up equity. Sure, they may make less than if they had sold in May 2005. But their house is still worth twice what it was in, say 1999. At least in many neighborhoods.

Elizabeth Razzi: For move-up buyers, it can be a wash, anyway. If their current home sells for less than they expected, but their move-up home costs less than they expected, it all works out.

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Ashburn, Va.: Hello, Maryann. Thank you for taking my question. Currently I live in Ashburn and commute everyday to D.C. for work. I desperately want to move into the city but am finding affordable housing options slim. I've been told to jump into the market now because prices are highly flexible. I've also been advised to wait a bit longer because the D.C. market hasn't finished softening (meaning the actual prices will start dropping). What is your opinion on the subject?

Wanting a shorter commute and affordable housing!

Elizabeth Razzi: The only thing I'm sure about when it comes to housing values is that it is impossible to predict when prices will bottom out (or peak, when it's a booming market). Go ahead and search for the right home now. As you said, affordable ones are tough to find -- but not impossible. When you find something that seems to fit the bill, at a somewhat reasonable price, negotiate hard on the price. And don't forget to factor your gasoline savings in to the equation. This is a quality of life decision as much as a financial one.

Maryann Haggerty: Don't forget your time savings. Depending on where you end up, you could get back two hours or more of your life every day. But there are, as you are discovering, tradeoffs.

Let's face it: Many houses in Ashburn are very nice. Affordable closer in will mean smaller. It will mean older, too.

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Prince George's County, Md.: I live in a small, middle class town with, I think, a lower than average crime rate for the county and metro area, but there is crime. I feel as safe as one can feel in a big city area and have great neighbors. Recently, a neighbor mentioned to me that the neighborhood list serve has had an active discussion about crime. I joined up and was horrified to discover that a very vocal group considers the town to be a drug-infested, crime-ridden haven for dangerous thugs. While I don't mean to diminish that crime does occur, the dialog on the board is borderline paranoid. Like most Americans, a lot of my wealth is tied up in my house. Prince George's County already has a crappy reputation even though many areas are just nice middle-class enclaves. Do I need to be worried that people researching my community will stumble across this listserve and get the wrong impression? When it comes to crime I feel that perception easily overrides reality and frankly, much as I like where I live, I have no problem selling up before the hysteria starts to affect my housing values.

Elizabeth Razzi: You can't control what others say on the Internet, but you can add to it. If you have a different perception about crime rates in your neighborhood, go ahead and argue the point. You might recruit like-minded neighbors to contribute to the list-serv as well. And the more factual you can be (such as by extolling the high participation rate in a Neighborhood Watch program) the more influential your posts will be.

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Alexandria, Va.: Not so much a question ... just a possible piece of advice for potential homebuyers so they hopefully do not make the same mistake as we did: Take your time! And resist the subtle or not-so-subtle pressures from agents ("The market is picking up right now! This is a really good deal! You might want to make an offer soon", etc.) Especially if you're a buyer with a sizable downpayment and good credit, the power is on your side right now. Better spend a few more months renting than buying something you will regret.

After moving from the city to the suburbs, I now wish we had taken more time to think about the decision. And I certainly wish our buyer agents (they worked as a team) had advised us to think about our sudden decision to move to the suburbs instead of just looking forward to their commission.

Elizabeth Razzi: Good advice. It's always wise to remember that agents are in the sales business.

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Washington: I'm amazed at the people who continually ask "should I buy now" or "should I sell now." People, no one can predict what's going to happen in the market six months from now! But of course, it's a big decision with a lot of $$ involved, so I guess it's not surprising.

Maryann Haggerty: I think we all want to erase whatever uncertainty we can erase. Buying (or selling) a house is a big, scary decision.

And I think people do focus too much on economic cycles, when they should focus more on life cycles--their own and those of their family. So you miss the top or the bottom of the market by six months? It's really not that big a deal, especially if those months allowed your kid to get settled into school at the beginning of the semester instead of the middle, or they allowed you enjoy the sailing season without long weeknight drives. Or whatever it is that makes your life work.

Elizabeth Razzi: Many people seem to have forgotten that real estate is a long-term investment. It is, much more so than the stock market. Ten years from now, if you look back on a purchase in 2007, you probably won't notice that much difference between a January '07 purchase and a December '07 purchase.

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McLean, Va.: Atlanta may wish to look at his/her townhouse improvements from another perspective: if the improvements had not been made, the townhouse might not sell at all. And to me, at least, it does not seem like Atlanta went overboard.

There comes a time -- usually between 20 and 25 years -- where you, the owner, have to face the reality of major renovations as major items and systems come to the end of their service lives.

I have firsthand knowledge of this, as we are into the fifth month of renovating a mid 1970s condo. My advice to home improvers: Just say NO to wallpaper.

Maryann Haggerty: My thinking on Atlanta's situation: Yes, there comes a time when you need to improve. But if resale is your only consideration, you should not improve more than your neighbors have.

And on wallpaper: When I bought my house, one wall of the kitchen had vinyl wallpaper. Vinyl wallpaper with red and white checks. Dark red. On vinyl. That was hung without wallpaper liner. My lord, WHAT a job to remove that.

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Baltimore, Md.: I have a nice (low six percent) fixed rate mortgage with Countrywide, which went out of its way yesterday to assure Wall Street it was financially sound. Such assurances always make me worry. SO, if the worst happened to Countrywide, what would happen to my mortgage, my escrow account, etc. Thanks!

Elizabeth Razzi: Don't fret. Someone will always accept your mortgage payment. This is NOT to imply that Countrywide is in serious financial trouble. But when any lender goes out of business, loans such as yours are considered its assets, and they get sold to someone else. All you get is a change of address -- though you should keep a close eye on your property tax and insurance bills that are paid out of an escrow account, just to make sure there are no snafus.

Maryann Haggerty: To repeat: Keep paying. The odds that your original lender actually owns your loan at this point are vanishing small.

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Alexandria, Va.:"Brilliant cobalt blue appliances, for example, may put off some buyers, so it's safer to buy stainless steel."

Not that I'm about to buy any such thing, but appliances are usually fairly easily changeable, right? Seems to me thinking of resale value would have more to do with things like hardwood flooring vs. carpet, wildly colored vs. neutral tiles in the bathroom, stuff like that, that would be both difficult AND expensive to change.

Which brings me to my question. We're thinking of finishing our smallish basement, about the size of a two-car garage. Idea would be that it would be used as an exercise, hobby, and laundry area, not for entertaining or any sort of quasi-public use. So, thinking of resale (although we intend to stay in the house for at least five more years), do you have any recommendations for flooring, linoleum vs. carpet vs. those vinyl stick-on squares, for instance? We enter the house mostly through the basement (it's attached to the garage) so I want it to look nice, be durable, and add to the value. Any ideas? What do people want to see as buyers?

Elizabeth Razzi: Appliances are easy to replace, but not all that inexpensive. And if it's a relatively inexpensive condo, you're talking a high percentage of the property's value. My personal opinion on flooring for a utility-type space in the basement leans heavily toward good old vinyl or linoleum flooring. You can't beat the look of the classic black-and-white checkerboard. And it's less susceptible to funny basement smells than carpeting.

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Why sell now: In response to the poster who asked why sell now -- there are certainly pockets of the area where values have NOT dropped. They may not be increasing, but I sold a house in a desirable close-in neighborhood with multiple offers, and have seen other homes nearby sell in just a couple of days.

Elizabeth Razzi: One agent's perspective on local markets:

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Richmond, Va.: People fail to realize that home-to-home comparisons show that prices rarely go down. Average prices go down, but the price for a specific property rarely go down. The rate at which they go up varies, and the sales price a house NEWLY ON THE MARKET varies, but rarely, rarely, rarely does the price of a given house go down. The best time to buy is always now, because the price will only go up.

Maryann Haggerty: Well, actually, prices on specific properties DO go down, at least in the short term. If you bought a house in, say, parts of Prince William County 12 months ago, and tried to sell now, you would learn that pretty quickly.

(But I'm guessing you may be one of the more than 1 million Americans who hold an active real estate license.)

Elizabeth Razzi: The best time to buy is when you need a home and plan to live there long enough to ride out market fluctuations.

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Washington, D.C.: RE: Atlanta ... I used to live there -- it depends somewhat where they're located. Townhouses do better than condos in Atlanta, but not quite as well as houses. The market there peaked in Spring 2005, but it cratered before then in many suburban areas beyond the Perimeter and in the northern suburbs. There is a huge supply of housing for sale in Atlanta and judging from what you paid, you're probably in one of the weaker performing areas. Values have held better in in town areas, but you still might take a loss even if you're there as there's been a lot of speculation in some of those places. Look on the bright side, you're getting out of Atlanta.

Maryann Haggerty: Atlanta is historically a boom and bust market, because there are ZILCH restrictions on development.

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D.C.: What about your thoughts about Baltimore, in particular the Reservoir Hill/Bolton Hill neighborhoods?

Maryann Haggerty: I've never lived in Baltimore, but I know a bunch of people who do, and they like it. As long as your work schedule permits you to use the MARC trains, the commute is do-able.

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Local homeowner: I've been hearing a lot about the problems of subprime mortgages and how they are affecting Wall Street, the economy, etc.

Have you or any of your staff seen first hand evidence how they may be impacting local real estate (e.g. slow down in real estate development, lowering of home prices, etc.)?

Thank you.

Maryann Haggerty: What we're seeing: Builders are reporting slower sales. They're also writing down land they no longer plan to develop right away. And buyers are having a tougher time getting loans, especially no-money-down loans.

Elizabeth Razzi: The wild swings in the stock market, partly influenced by subprime lending woes, is also contributing to an overall sense of unease.

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Del Ray, Va.: What effect on the real estate market do you think the change in (Presidential) administration will bring in late-2008 and into 2009? Is there any historical evidence that will indicate what may happen this time around? I'm hoping that the demand for all housing increases -- and prices skyrocket. Is that too optimistic?

Elizabeth Razzi: I've lived in the DC area through four changes in occupancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, and from what I can see there's a flurry of transactions in nice, close-in neighborhoods (such as Del Ray) as new people come in to office and others move away. It doesn't seem to matter too much whether the political party changes. It's fun to watch -- but I don't think there's enough activity to really change the market.

Maryann Haggerty: I've also watched presidents come and go. And you know what? I think Elizabeth is overstating the effect of a change in administration. It is so small as to be negligible. No one from the old administration leaves, for one thing. And yes, a few high-profile folks come in with the new administration, but a lot of the other people who get jobs are those who burrowed in eight years earlier and kept their heads down.

People say perhaps you can see effects in some neighborhoods. But not much. For instance, the changeover in control of Congress, for example, has meant just about zilch for the real estate market on Capitol Hill.

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Washington, D.C.: For the person looking for a $300,000 one-bedroom condo in Dupont Circle. Not to be flip, but ... good luck. You'll need it because I don't think such places exist in that neighborhood. A better bet would be looking along the Green Line -- northern Columbia Heights and Petworth. Or at the other end of the Red Line -- Brookland. I understand your concern for safety, but you should investigate the crime stats for any community before writing it off or writing it in. There is more crime in Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan than many people think.

Maryann Haggerty: I don't think you're being flip. Dupont Circle is an expensive neighborhood--and it has been that way for many years.

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Equity question: Hi, Maryann and Elizabeth. Here's an equity question: What's the difference between equity at three years of ownership in comparison to equity at five years? I get that it goes up, but what does that really do for the homeowner, and should they think about sitting tight till they reach year four or five, or go with their dream to upgrade if they can afford to do so?

Thanks!

Elizabeth Razzi: The rising equity doesn't come from your mortgage payments, which are mostly interest in the early years. It would come from rising market values. And five years of ownership makes it more likely that values would have risen (even if they're rising at a slow pace) than would three years of ownership. If you already own a home, and can afford to sell it now and upgrade to something that suits your lifestyle, by all means give it a go. But you will be managing your money more carefully if you plan to live in the new place at least three to five years, preferably longer.

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(But I'm guessing you may be one of the more than 1 million Americans who hold an active real estate license.) : Nope, not at all. (I'm a landscape architect). I just listened very intently to my economics professor, and read the paper. I just hate to see young people get all tied up stressing about timing buying in the market perfectly and in the long run, prices are going to go up. Buy already, stop waiting until prices go down as much as they can, you'll just risk most prices going up.

I bought during a hot sellers market. People told me not to, buy I bought anyway. Ends up I bought right before a huge surge in value, so my house that I paid $112,000 for (when it was assessed at $85,000) is now assessed at $270,000 a few years later. If I'd waited like some told me, I would not qualify to buy the house, because my salary hasn't doubled!

Maryann Haggerty: I'll let you defend yourself here.

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Alexandria, Va.: My wife and I are listing our condo presently and have begun the search for a larger place. We already have approval from a lender (as opposed to pre-approval or pre-qualification), but if we plan on shopping for the best mortgage, is it necessary to get pre-approved by multiple lenders?

Elizabeth Razzi: Ideally the rate-shopping would have occurred before you sought approval from that one lender. After you've found something to buy, it would be worth some comparison shopping to make sure you have the best mortgage deal, even if that requires you to pay an extra application fee.

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Washington, D.C.: RE: "Maybe large one bedroom condos near the Metro for under $300,000 just don't exist in D.C." There really are developments that will pop up in the coming years if one is flexible on which metro stop in the District you want to be near. For instance, construction on these http://www.the-dakotas.com/ have not started yet, but they are well within the price range the poster mentioned.

Maryann Haggerty: That condo is in the Fort Totten area of the District, in Northeast. And you make a very good point. Metro has stops in lots of places that aren't currently trendy.

Another thought: Many of the places that are currently trendy didn't used to be that way.

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Hampshire, UK: Any thoughts on the vacation home market? I thought it generally fell harder than the primary home market, but Nantucket, Mass. doesn't seem to be being affected much! Thanks for any insight.

Elizabeth Razzi: The very expensive home market, especially anywhere close to New York City (and Nantucket may be close enough) hasn't suffered as much as elsewhere. There are still a lot of well-heeled buyers looking for second homes.

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Collegeville, Pa.: Any thoughts on CNBC's money guy Jim Cramer telling homeowners that if they bought in the past two years with no money down in an area that's losing value, to just simply walk away and mail your keys in? Amazing that he said that with little commentary from the public -- he's advocating NOT paying your mortgage!

Elizabeth Razzi: I'm more of a "my word is my bond" kinda gal when it comes to debts, and I don't think I'm alone in that.

Maryann Haggerty: There are moral implications to just walking away from a legitimate debt. (And it plays havoc with your credit rating, if you care about that.)

Oh, and the bank is likely to come after you...

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Elizabeth Razzi: Time to sign off, folks. See you in the Sunday Business section!

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Maryann Haggerty: We have to wrap it up now. One thing I forgot to mention up top: I'm trying to recruit a bunch of readers who are willing to talk (or write) about what it has meant to them to buy/sell/rent/own a home these last few years. This would be for a special section we're preparing this fall. If you're interested, drop me a note at haggertym@washpost.com.

In the meantime, it's supposed to be a hot, steamy weekend. So whether you're sitting out at the pool or hiding inside with the AC on, make a point of picking up the newspaper on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's Real Estate section takes a look at local warehouses where you can buy recycled building materials. And on Sunday, Elizabeth's column is just great. I can't tell you what it's about right now--but you have GOT to read it!

Have a nice weekend...

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