Byline: Maryann Haggerty

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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Maryann Haggerty: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining me to talk about real estate. Let's jump right in!

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Alexandria, Va.: I am a first-time homebuyer looking to purchase this spring. I currently have a lease, so I am looking to close early to mid-April. When should I contact a realtor to start seriously looking at potential homes?

Maryann Haggerty: Start working seriously on the entire process right now. But your first step should not be to call a real estate agent. It should be to take a close look at your credit files and credit scores. That, more than anything, will dictate what you will be able to find mortgage-wise.

And "early to mid-April" is really, really soon. Figure in most cases it will take about 45 days to go from contract to closing. That backs the whole thing up to, say, late February. And that is practically around the corner.

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Rockville, Md.: Hi,

We are in the preliminary stages of looking for another house. I would prefer to avoid dealing with banks and real estate agents at this point and I was wondering if you are aware of sources for the following:

1. Estimating the amount of loan we could qualify for. For example, years ago when I was a banker, I was told that the max mortgage payment could be 28 percent of gross monthly income. From that, it is easy come up with the loan amount.

2. A way to input the price, location, characteristics of the home we're looking for and the computer spits out homes or neighborhoods that meet the qualifications.

Thanks

Maryann Haggerty: 1. You remember the 28 percent ratio correctly (i.e., no more than 28 percent of your gross income can go to principal, interest, taxes and insurance) for a conventional loan. However, many lenders have abandoned those ratios for more creative financing. That's what shopping around is all about. In the meantime, there are a kajillion mortgage calculators on the Web that will do the math for you.

2. There are also a kajillion Web sites that let you specify various combinations of that info. That most widely used is Realtor.com . Lots of other entrepreneurs are competing to see who has the most killer features, so you just need to see who is offering what you want. (On any of the sites, just click on the equivalent of "more search options.")

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Washington, D.C.: I finally gave in and paid over $2000 for an apartment, but I really don't like it. Any chance prices will come down or is it like gasoline, prices go up but really don't come down?

Maryann Haggerty: I'm sure there are recorded instances of rent coming down, at least temporarily. But over time, barring another Great Depression -- nope, rents go up.

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Logan Circle, D.C.: Hi Maryann,

I feel slightly sheepish asking this, but here goes. After I bought my condo in D.C. in 2004, I took the D.C. first-time homebuyer's credit on my taxes, but didn't apply for the homestead deduction. In all the excitement of moving into the district, I think I got the two benefits confused and thought I'd already signed up for the homestead deduction somehow. So now, three years later, I realize my mistake (I double-checked my assessment on the OTR Web site ). I've been paying about $500 too much tax per year! Do you know if the homestead deduction can be applied retroactively to recoup what I failed to claim? (I assume I can still take it for the present and future at least...) Thanks!

Maryann Haggerty: I don't know for sure, but it appears from the D.C. government Web site that one of the requirements for receiving the D.C. homestead deduction is that you have an application on file for it. But hey, it doesn't cost anything to call the Office of Tax and Revenue and ask. There may be some fine print there that I'm missing

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Bethesda, Md.: I have a question that may sound simple, but for me it is really not an easy thing. How do you fire a realtor? I asked a realtor from a major realty company to help find a place to purchase, but he is rude, pushy and...to be quite honest, not very nice to my kids. I found a place that I like and want to see it again, but not with him. I found another woman whom I like so much more and who exudes the professionalism I expect. Am I legally bound to this first guy because I saw the property with him first? (I found the property online and asked him to show it to me.) How do I fire him? He keeps calling and sending e-mails even though I don't want to work with him any more. This is all pretty new to me....What do I do?