Dear Edith: My significant other and I very much enjoy visiting houses to see what the owners have done in the way of decorating, etc. If we're not looking to buy our own place, can we visit open houses anyhow? She thinks maybe it's cheating. — F. Q.

Answer: Brokers might be lonely giving up a weekend afternoon to sit in an empty house, and I'm pretty sure they would welcome you. Or if they're busy with would-be buyers, it always helps to have the bustle of additional lookers.

Don't worry if you're asked to sign in. If it were your house, wouldn't you want people to identify themselves before coming in? And you can be frank with the agent about not being in the market yet. Any good broker would welcome the opportunity to meet you anyhow.

Successful Timeshare

Dear Ms. Lank: You can let the person who wrote saying they only read about people complaining about timeshares that some people do like them.

My cousins have owned a timeshare for years. They use it pretty much every year. They trade with other timeshare owners so they are able to go to different places. A couple years ago, they used one in Las Vegas, and a few years before that they were in Hawaii.

I think the trick is to know realistically what you will get out of a timeshare. — L. C.

Answer: Yes, when owners are happy with timeshares, they don't usually bother writing to me about it. We just hear about the problems.

It's worth repeating, though, that a timeshare may be a convenient, worry-free and relatively inexpensive way to vacation in the same location every year, or sometimes trade for another destination. But owners have to realize that a timeshare is a convenience and the family situation will change years from now. It shouldn't be regarded as an investment.

I wonder where your cousins' unit is located so they are able to swap for popular tourist destinations like Las Vegas and Hawaii.

And, somewhat off the subject: This week, my niece and her husband are enjoying an apartment in San Francisco, which belongs to someone who's occupying their apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was all arranged on the internet.

Completely off the subject: There wasn't even such a word as "timeshare" when I was young, and it does show how much the world has changed — I remember watching our neighbor start his car (maybe it was a Nash) by standing in front of the radiator and hauling around a crank till the ignition caught and he ran to jump into the driver's seat before it stalled.

Wants Smaller Units

Ms. Lank: Your answer to the complaint of needing a greater number of smaller houses was weak and untrue. That complaint was 100 percent true.

Lots of us are tired of all these barrack-type neighborhoods with four bedrooms and four baths. There just aren't enough for the retired, the childless couples and the young professionals who don't want, don't need or can't afford them.

Since people are living much longer, the need will become greater! These contractors should be thinking ahead. — Mrs. R. H.

Answer: It wasn't just a smaller house those retirees were looking for, Mrs. R. H. They wanted to downsize into something newly built in a neighborhood with houses — and families — of various sizes.

Too bad you don't live where I do. There aren't many barrack-type four-bedroom homes around here. We have lots of older entry-level or retiree homes. And occasionally — if not rarely — a developer plans new housing of assorted sizes for families of all ages.

Complete Letter

Dear Ms. Lank: Please send info on how to sell your home by yourself and not pay a commission. — R. L.

Longer answer: Go to the nearest public library and ask for recommendations. There are books on how to sell real estate, and while you're at it, take home a textbook for real estate licenses in your state. Then start reading.

Where I live, would-be real estate salespersons must pass a 75-hour course, find a sponsoring broker, pass a state examination and only then begin to work under the close, personal supervision of an experienced agent.

So I don't think I can tell you how to do it in a single email.

But anyhow, good luck!

Contact Edith Lank at www.askedith.com, at edithlank@aol.com or at 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester NY 14620.