: Most yards in our neighborhood are well-kept. The exception is a rental across the street. The owners live out of the country and the management company has said it would do something about the yard, but that never happens. We plan to sell our house soon. What can we do about this, and shouldn't there be something in a rental contract that specifies renters must keep up the yard, and if they don't, the manager must?

A: Dean Foggitt, designated broker of Brink Property Management in Bellevue, says most rental contracts do indeed have a clause like you mentioned. Problem is, you, as an outsider, have no clout to get it enforced because it's a civil contract solely between landlord, tenant and management company. "Other than trying to track down the owners and writing them a letter, there's not much you can do," Foggitt says. (That's unless you're in a neighborhood with covenants regarding yard maintenance; if so, take your case to the homeowners' association.)

Still, before giving up, he suggests you cordially explain to the tenants how important their yard is to you because of your upcoming house sale. "The tenant might feel bad enough to do something about it." If that doesn't work and you're convinced the yard's condition will affect your sale, then the realistic solution is to do the work yourself, mentally filing it under the "good deeds done / life's not fair" category. But you'll want to get the neighbor's permission first.

Q: In reading the language on a trust deed, I discovered the word "hereditaments." It's my understanding that hereditaments includes not only land and everything on it, but also personal property. In the event of foreclosure, does this mean that not only the property will be ordered sold, but also such personal goods as trucks, cars and trailers?

A: For a definition of hereditament, we turned to local attorney Alan Tonnon's book, "The Complete Guide to Washington Real Estate Practices." A hereditament, he writes, is every kind of inheritable property that's attached to the land, as well as, for example, the right to receive future rents or insurance proceeds tied to that property. Larry Glosser, also a local lawyer, says that in a foreclosure you'd lose only "real property," such as a house, barn or shed. Although it's inheritable, personal property, like a car, would be excluded because it's not attached to your land.

One possible exception: if you'd used personal property (vehicles, for example) as collateral for your loan. Even then you wouldn't lose these belongings as part of the foreclosure; your lender would have to take them through a separate legal action.

Home Forum answers readers' questions every Sunday in the Home / Real Estate section. Send questions to Home Forum, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or call 206-464-8510 to leave your questions on Home Forum's recorded line. The e-mail address is erhodes@seattletimes.com

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