Schatsky said that sellers routinely leave money behind at a closing when a co-op or condominium apartment is sold and the new owner ends up with the prior owner's property tax rebate. The rebate, which is designed to equalise the property taxes paid by co-op and condominium owners with those paid by owners of houses, can amount to as much as 25 per cent of the total tax, depending on the assessed value of the property.

But the rebate is not returned to the taxpayer until months after the tax year ends, said Schatsky. So, for example, the rebate for taxes paid for the1998-1999 tax year, which runs from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999, will not be distributed until October or November 1999. That means that if a co-op or condominium apartment is sold in, say, August 1999, the new owner will receive the prior owner's rebate.

The only way to prevent this from happening, said Schatsky, is to address the issue in the contract of sale. ``When representing a seller, I always put in my contracts a clause that says the seller is entitled to any rebates received by the purchaser that are for time-periods covered by the seller's occupancy,'' Schatsky said. ``And I always add another provision saying that the rebate clause survives the closing.''

The latter provision is critical, he said, because the terms and conditions of a real estate contract are generally considered moot once the closing has taken place. While the rebate can amount to several hundred dollars, Schatsky said, many lawyers fail to take the steps necessary to obtain it and most seller clients are not even awarethat they may be entitled to it.

Plastic shopping costs them dear

For a long time now, using a credit card for purchases in foreign countries has been a financial given for seasoned travellers, according to The New York Times. That's because the exchange rates offered by credit cards have generally been better than those at local currency exchange counters.But some travellers are finding their credit card shopping a little more expensive than it used to be, as some card issuers are adding fees on transactions in foreign currencies.

As a result, while it may still pay for American travellers to use their credit cards overseas, it may pay even more for them to choose their card carefully.

Since November, Citibank, the second-biggest credit card issuer after Bank One, has been adding a 2 per cent surcharge to purchases in foreign currencies. Providian Financial of San Francisco, another big issuer, has been charging about half its customers--those with higher credit limits--a 4 per cent fee forforeign exchange since July.

The fees are assessed per transaction, after a currency is converted to dollars based on various exchange rates. And they come on top of a 1 per cent charge that Visa and Mastercard have long added to cover the costs of a currency exchange. (American Express will increase its transaction fee to 2 per cent in mid-June, from 1 per cent.)

Linda Sherry, the editorial director at Consumer Action, an advocacy group based in San Francisco that researches personal-finance issues, says using a credit card is still advantageous, though less so than before. ``We have always told people to use credit cards overseas to avoid rates at change facilities, Sherry said. ``It is still a bargain, but we think that banks adding on a percentage is going to become a trend.''

The problem for card users, Sherry explained, is that the charges on foreign transactions are not obvious.

``A consumer would probably not go back and check the foreign exchange rate and realise there is a percentage addedon top of the rate,'' she said. ``The fee is rolled in, instead of being shown on the bill.''

Banks defend the charges, saying they are reasonable and necessary to cover costs. David Webster, first vice-president for corporate affairs at Bank One, said fees offered a way to make sure that consumers are charged only for services they use.

``If you use your card to make a purchase in a foreign country,'' he said, ``you pay a fee that is not borne by other card members.'' And while banks are more willing to raise foreign transaction fees, Sherry said, consumers are becoming more conscious of credit card costs in general.

``Before anyone takes out a card, they should think about how they'll be using it,'' she said. ``They should ask questions first to see where they could run into trouble with fees.''