Q: I sold my duplex in 2004 and declared my profit on my tax return, but have been fighting the IRS ever since then about some deductions on the sale. Last week, I received a letter and a phone call from a collection agency that said it would place a lien on my current home if I do not pay the back taxes I supposedly owe. What can I do?

A: For decades, the Internal Revenue Service would either slap a lien on property from taxpayers it thought were delinquent or garnish their wages if a judge ruled in the agency’s favor.

That changed in 2005, when it contracted with two companies — CBE Group and Pioneer Credit Recovery Inc. — to help collect on past-due bills.

Your case is unresolved, so the collection agency cannot place a lien on your house or garnish your wages without a judge’s approval. You might exercise your legal right to demand that your case be sent back to the IRS: The agency can offer you a settlement agreement, which neither CBE nor Pioneer is authorized to do.

Q: The bank won’t approve the loan on our first house until we purchase a hazard-insurance policy on the house that we want to purchase. Is the bank trying to rip us off?

A: No. Lenders routinely demand that potential borrowers first get an insurance policy before a deal closes, in part because a mover might get hurt while unloading the truck or, God forbid, the house that you and your spouse are buying is damaged or destroyed by fire, hail, hurricane or other disasters.

Call your insurance company or agent and ask for a “binder” that guarantees that your home will be insured from the day you take possession. Also go to www.iii.com , the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute.

Q: My husband and I put our home up for sale in January, but we have received no offers. We are to close on the new home we want to buy on June 1, but we can’t purchase it if our home doesn’t sell first. If our home doesn’t sell, we will lose the $6,000 good-faith deposit we made on the house we want to purchase. What can we do?

A: First, make sure that your home is appropriately priced. Then consider the $6,000 deposit. Most real estate contracts state that if the buyer can’t get a mortgage, the purchase can be cancelled and the seller must return the deposit. You can call the proposed lender or your mortgage broker, and they’ll likely decline your loan — which means you should get your deposit back.