Real estate's wild ride

3 tips

If you bought McMansion recently, it might be looking like a big McStake. If you're buying one, however, you're in command. Either way, every move counts:

SCORE A FREEBIE Skip the big appliances some desperate developers are giving away. Get them to pay your mortgage for a year, as some Florida developers are.

SPRUCE UP SMART A new bathroom or sun porch won't recoup value as much when you sell as will cosmetic touches like a new tree, a fresh coat of pain, or curb appeal.

PROTECT PROFITS Thinking of selling? You can use put options on housing futures - which appreciate when prices fall - as insurance against price drops. For example, a Boston seller could have recently bought five $750 puts (they're sold by stockbrokers and priced by city) for $3,750. If houses in Beantown dropped 20% the puts would grow to 22,100 taking some of the sting out of a lower asking price.