On April 20 , the Register met with five local real estate professionals to discuss the current market. Topics ranged from bank-owned properties to Upvalley sales and comparisons with other parts of the region.

Dr. Larry S. Posner  didn’t originally plan on going into medicine.

After working with other general contractors for years, interior designer Judy Schindler decided to become one herself.

If you are accustomed to conducting your business in a timely and organized manner, buying a home owned by a lending institution will likely prove a challenge.

The 15th annual (can you believe it?) Chefs Market begins May 21 at   5 p.m. on First Street in Napa. The market gets tweaked every year, sometimes a little, such as a change in vendors, and sometimes a lot, like last year’s move to Thursday nights.

I love it when someone responds to a challenge. Last week’s request for a Napa County Go Local Cooperative drew e-mail, blog and phone responses including exactly what I was looking for: business owner Michael McKeown created a web presence “Napa County Go Local” (www.napacounty golocal.com) and in three days gathered a membership of 26 small local businesses.

Dear Len & Rosie, My sister and I inherited a $2 million apartment building. My wife of 31 years and I have a trust. I have no problem adding her name to the deed as a trustee, but could I stipulate in an agreement with my wife that if she asked me for a divorce down the road she would give the property back to me? -- Douglas

Dear Len & Rosie, I am the trustee of my recently deceased mother’s trust, which includes a special needs trust for my disabled sister, Judith, who is on Medi-Cal and Supplemental Security Income. Both before and after our mother’s death, my sister has rented a property owned by the trust. As trustee, can I pay off the mortgage on this property and turn it over to my sister while staying in compliance with the terms of the trust? -- Ben