
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 20, 1995                   TAG: 9508220013
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: C-13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: NANCY L. ROSS THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BOOK GIVES HOMEOWNERS LEGAL ADVICE

What do the sound of wind chimes and the smell of garlic have to do with the law? Quite simply, you may be able to sue your neighbor for creating a nuisance with the former, but there's no going to court over cooking odors wafting in from next door.

This legal tidbit is contained in a new paperback, ``The American Bar Association Guide to Home Ownership'' (Random House, 193 pages, $12). The book would be at home on the shelf next to the handy household fix-it-yourself guide and the medical reference book.

Subtitled ``The Complete and Easy Guide to All the Law Every Home Owner Should Know,'' much of the book covers situations most people face only once or twice: buying and selling a house, or writing a will. In such cases, people are likely to consult a lawyer.

But it also includes more everyday situations: Can you be held responsible if you let guests drive home after having too much to drink and they injure someone? (Yes.)

One chapter is devoted to avoiding liability. Another tells how to keep from getting nailed on remodeling jobs and cites common scams, such as the unsolicited contractor who offers a bargain on driveway surfacing because he says he has asphalt left over from a job down the street.

``Neighbor disputes are one of the most common problems,'' said Hilarie F. Bass, a Miami attorney who chairs the ABA's standing committee on public education. ``People feel impotent to deal with them.''

For a book written by lawyers, the book is surprisingly chary of lawsuits. It warns, ``Going to court is no fun ... and the battle can continue for years.'' Instead it recommends discussion, warnings and mediation among parties. For those who do consider legal action, there is discussion of cost vs. benefit and an explanation of the small-claims-court procedure.

This paperback is the first of four that will be published over the next year as easy-to- understand versions of the mammoth 1994 American Bar Association Family Legal Guide. Bass said the series is ``part of an effort to educate consumers about basic legal issues.''

by CNB