You complain that tenants trash your place. So next time someone wants to rent, take a look at the inside of their car to get an idea of their housekeeping. Better yet, visit them at their current home. If you don't like what you see, tell them they can't rent your house. You don't have to give any reason.

If you don't want dog pee, don't rent to anyone with pets.

If you don't want deadbeats, get a credit report on prospective tenants. A real estate broker, accountant or lawyer can help with that, or you can have them get their own credit report free at annualcreditreport.com, and bring it to you. That's how you learn whether they are in the habit of paying bills on time.

What Are Comps?

Dear Edith: When selling a house, how does the appraiser come up with the property estimate? Is it based on comps in the area? How do they judge the comps? -- Via e-mail

Answer: "Comps" are comparable sales -- recent sales of nearby properties that are as similar as possible to the house being appraised. The reasoning is that if buyers were willing to pay a certain amount last week, other buyers are likely to pay the same amount this week for similar property in the same area.

Appraisers who are trying to estimate the market value of a property, the most probable selling price, look for the closest sales they can find. They hope for several different sales close in time, property size and neighborhood.

Then they make adjustments. If one place that sold last week had an extra garage, they subtract a bit from the sale price, figuring the current house might bring a bit less. If the house they're appraising has a larger lot, they may add something to whatever price another house brought.

They don't simply average the results, but use their expertise to judge which transactions should be given most weight in the final estimate.