Q: The mortgage broker I went to kept trying to steer me to an interest-only loan even though I told him I didn't want that kind. When he wouldn't back down, I left because I felt he was trying to sell me rather than help me. Do mortgage brokers work on commission and make more with certain types of loans?

A: In Washington state the term "mortgage broker" refers to a company, so the person you dealt with was probably a loan officer working for a broker.

Mortgage brokers get their money from various mortgage backers, so both the company and the officer could work on commission, said Chuck Cross, a division director with the state Department of Financial Institutions.

"But it's not absolute," Cross said. "Most officers will work either on all-commission or on salary plus commission. Certain types of loans may make certain premiums."

For example, some loans generate what's called a yield-spread premium that's paid to the loan officer when he or she delivers a higher cost, and thus more profitable, loan.

An example, Cross said, would be a buyer who qualifies for a loan with a 5.25 percent interest rate, but instead the loan officer gets the buyer to commit to a 6.25 percent rate and is financially rewarded for doing so.

"There may be similar incentives for something like an interest-only loan," Cross said.

The federal law governing mortgages allows lenders to give incentives to employees.

He sees no problem with a loan officer trying to sell you an interest-only loan — as long as it's the best one for you.

"It might have been the only way to get into a house, and that could be a valid reason for trying to steer you," he said.

The Department of Financial Institutions receives many complaints from mortgage holders who feel they've been victimized.

"We hear over and over, 'I felt something was wrong, but I couldn't put my finger on it, so I signed,' " Cross said. "I always say if it doesn't feel right, walk away. That's your sixth sense talking to you."

So given your discomfort, Cross thinks you did the right thing by walking.

Q: Years ago, before we were married, my husband and I each bought a house in the same neighborhood. We moved into mine and have spent about $50,000 upgrading it. We've spent little on the other, which we rent out. Now we're getting a divorce and my husband says my home is worth $200,000 more than his. I know I'll have to pay him something to keep my house, but how do we figure out how much? I have a hard time believing that $200,000 difference.

A: As complex as your question is, the answer is even more so, said Seattle attorney Janet A. George.

"The part that's really complex is Washington is not a 50/50 state," George said. "It's a 'just and equitable' state."

This means that rather than splitting everything down the middle, a judge would look at the facts of your situation and decide what's fair.

"All of the assets are before the court, so if there are other assets, they need to be figured in," George said. "Maybe there are pensions or investments or cars that might balance it out."

As far as your two houses go, there's a simple way to figure out how much each house is worth: hire a professional property appraiser. But his or her findings won't tell you how the difference between the two homes will be split. Among the other factors: how much each of you put into those properties before you married, whether the homes stayed in your separate names after you married, whether your community money went into upgrades.

"Any time you put marital community money into a separate asset, you've got a lien on that asset," George said.

Calculating the amount of such liens "are called tracing problems, and they're the most complicated."

So where do you go from here? An experienced divorce attorney can help you trace through the lien, separate-property and community-property issues.

If you don't want to go that route, a mediator might be able to help you reach "a just and equitable result," George said.

Q: I live in a Seattle neighborhood that's zoned single family. A house near mine was recently bought by investors. They're apparently requesting a rezone so they can build an apartment building. Does the city require rezoning to be made known to the neighborhood before it's passed? What can be done to stop this process?

A: You'll know if rezoning plans are afoot in your neighborhood because a sign saying so would have be posted on the property, said Alan Justad, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development. It will also tell you how you can comment.

Because a rezone is a several-step process there will be various opportunities for public participation.

"The criteria to move something from single-family to multi-family is difficult to achieve," Justad said. "There's a strong protection of single-family zoning in our land-use code and a pretty high hurdle to get property rezoned from single family."

Still, Justad said, there are cases "where it does make sense, we have recommended approval, and that has happened."

Home Forum answers readers' real-estate questions. Send questions to Home Forum, Seattle Times, P.O. Box 1845, Seattle, WA 98111, or call 206-464-8510 to leave a question on a recorded line. The e-mail address is erhodes@seattletimes.com. Sorry, no personal replies. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.