Radon Remediation

Hello Edith: My daughter and her husband just got an offer on their home, contingent upon an inspection. The inspection revealed a level of 39 when radon was checked.

The prospective buyers backed out. My daughter and her husband are having radon mitigation performed on Tuesday. From your experience, how difficult will it be to sell their home with this history, despite the repair?

They had the house listed for six days and got full asking price. The home is quite lovely and the quick response is an indication of this. However, they are worried now. Can you ease their worry? They have already committed to buy another home. -- S.K.

Answer: Radon is probably the easiest environmental problem to fix. In many states your kids wouldn't even be required to disclose that it had been done. Frankly, though, I'd consider the remediation a plus. If I were a seller I'd use it as a selling point.

Owning With Grandson

Dear Edith: Is it possible to have joint ownership on a house between myself and my minor grandson? He is 11. Would it be better to have him named in my will to inherit the house? Presently, the house is in my name only. -- J.H.

Answer: It's possible to name a minor as co-owner of real estate. Doing so, though, would open you up to all sort of cumbersome legal complications, petitioning courts or accounting to them. Your ability to use a reverse mortgage (any kind of mortgage) or to sell would be problematical. If you ever did want to sell, your grandson would owe capital gains tax on some of the profit.

Then again, you can't be sure how an 11-year-old will turn out, which could lead to an entirely different set of problems.

Talk with a lawyer who specializes in estate planning for expert advice on better ways to achieve your goal.