This real estate column first appeared in 1975, so we're celebrating the completion of 40 years. With four items appearing most weeks, which would mean readers have sent in more than 8,000 questions and comments — except some questions come in over and over.

When the problem starts with "My grandfather's will left his..." I know what's coming. The whole family now co-owns the old vacation cottage, usually on a lake. I'm sure that often results in delightful summer reunions, but those aren't the people who write to the column. I usually hear from one of the cousins — the one who moved thousands of miles away so he never uses the place, or sometimes the one who lost her job and can't afford to pay her share of property taxes, or the energetic one who can't get the others to agree about building that boathouse.

Then again, I keep receiving complaints about how our wonderful house just won't get sold, or sometimes it's Mother's house. Pictures are often included, and long descriptions about how great the place is. That's wasted effort, because they're all going to get the standard answer: "If property hasn't sold after being widely advertised on the open market, the buying public has voted that you're asking too much. If you priced the place at $2, it would sell in five minutes. Somewhere between $2 and what you're asking is a price that will attract written offers. You just have to find it."

Over the years, people have asked, "How come you know all the answers?" and that one's easy — I get to pick what goes in the paper. Some questions never make it into print. A few examples:

"Would you please tell me what careers are going to be the best opportunity for women 50 years and older?"

"Do you still have to make mortgage payments after you've listed your home for sale?"

"If I own the air rights above my land, why can't I charge for all electronic signals sent through my property?"

"We would like to pay our mortgage off early by sending in extra payments. Should we send extra principal, interest or escrow?"

"I was going to give my daughter your information on how to pay a mortgage off sooner but I forgot and used it to wrap some jars, so please send me a copy."

"I read where mortgage interest rates decreased so please send details on how I go about notifying my bank."

"At the end of last year my monthly mortgage payment went down. How could this affect a person in the long run? Do I have any rights? There is a name for this but I forget what it is called."

"I feel that my mortgage payment is a bit high. I can pay it without suffering financially, but I would also like to have money to enjoy life as well. My question is: how can I go about requesting a reduction? What steps are involved?"

"I heard different things about points — is it only when you make a down payment or do you earn any more over the years?"

"I am in my senior year in high school and we have a term paper which has to be 50 pages typed and I am doing it on housing industry and real estate. Please send me all info you have please, typed."

"I would appreciate your explanation of drawbacks to putting your house in the children's names. I have four daughters, God bless them but I hate arguments."

"I have three hungry imps who want my house when I croak."

"Having been taken to the cleaners financially three times by men, I do not wish again to do anything financial through men. Delighted to see on TV that you are not a man."

"The reason I am incarcerated is I walked in on my husband in bed with another woman and I lost it with a golf club."

For forty years, every question has received a personal answer, now mainly by email through the web site. But when I recently noticed I was no longer hearing much from older readers, I asked the newspapers to add back the street address. Now the mailman is again delivering genuine envelopes, with stamps, addressed in what I still regard as real handwriting, and including — without being asked — the old-fashioned SASE, the self-addressed stamped return envelope.

Edith Lank will respond personally to any question sent to www.askedith.com, to 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester NY 14620, or to edithlank@aol.com

Photo credit: Dimitris Kamaras