If your neighbor is using part of your land, such as for a pathway or if a fence was built a few feet on your side of the property line, but you really don't mind, granting permission will defeat a permanent prescriptive easement. The law doesn't specify what form this permission should take, but I have given such permission to one of my neighbors in the form of a notarized letter sent via certified mail with a return receipt. That should be sufficient. For further details, please consult a local real estate attorney.

Q: I read in the newspaper the number of house foreclosures has increased dramatically in recent months. I want to get started investing in real estate, first with a house for my bride and me. Later we can buy houses for investment. As I have a full-time job, do you think I can do this and how do I go about finding the foreclosures? I asked several real estate agents and they don't know anything about foreclosures.

A: Foreclosures offer tremendous opportunities. Since you didn't cause the default and someone is going to profit from the foreclosure, it might as well be you. Yes, you can buy foreclosures on a part-time basis.

There are three major opportunities: (1) buy the house at a bargain price direct from the defaulting owner before the foreclosure sale, (2) buy at the foreclosure auction, and (3) if there were no bidders at the auction, buy from the foreclosing lender who acquired the house after the sale. I prefer the third opportunity because most lenders offer excellent financing to quickly get rid of the foreclosed houses.

Q: I am a tax appeals officer in the county where I live. I am retired from a "real job" and enjoy this work tremendously. But perhaps you and your readers can benefit from a few suggestions. No matter how sad the property owner's story, we can't reduce the tax assessment because we feel sorry for the owner. However, we can and do reduce property taxes where the owner comes in with facts as to why their assessed value is too high. The best evidence is recent verified sales prices of comparable nearby houses. The second-best evidence is a professional appraisal by a licensed appraiser. In some areas property values have declined and we must reduce the assessment when shown the facts. However, homeowners should be wary about some of the so-called "property tax consultants" who charge a high up-front fee and don't produce results.

A: Many thanks for your valuable insight. In recent weeks several readers have written to ask about the property tax consultants who claim they can get tax assessments reduced. My suggestion is, before paying any fee, to ask for references of previous clients and then verify the tax consultant actually got the property tax reduced.

(Copyright 1992, Tribune Media Services Inc.)

Bob Bruss' column appears Sundays in the Home/Real Estate section of The Times. Letters and comments should be sent to Bob Bruss, Seattle Times Newsroom, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111.