We generally build fences for two reasons: to keep something in, or to keep something out — even if sometimes all we want to keep out are the prying eyes.

“More people are spending more time in their back yards, and they don’t want the whole neighborhood watching their cookout,” said Chris Bucca, sales manager at Long Fence, a local fence and deck contractor.

OCEAN PINES, Md. — A few years after his parents paid $4,500 for a wooded lot here in 1968, Bill Russell began visiting the summer retreat regularly with his wife, Gemma, and their infant daughter, Kim, making the 2½ -hour trip from their Philadelphia home to the Worcester County community just north of Ocean City.

“We had to get enough gas money to get here, but then we had Mom’s food and Pop’s boat. It was our vacation,” said Bill Russell, now 62, who bought a house 10 years ago in north Ocean Pines, near his parents’ old place. Like many retirees here, Russell has not stopped working completely; he is a part-time dock attendant at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club and Marina, where there is a three-year waiting list for boat slips.

Q: DEAR TIM: The air conditioning in my home has never seemed to work well.

My recent promotion and transfer has me moving to home that is in the early stages of construction. What can I do to ensure that the new home has a central air-conditioning system that keeps all rooms comfortable no matter the outdoor temperature? Is it possible to have all rooms nearly the same temperature? My existing home’s second floor feels like an oven.– Julie F.

With an important exception, lenders price mortgage loans on the assumption that borrowers will include taxes and insurance premiums in their monthly payments. These payments are placed in an escrow account under the lender’s control. When a payment is due, it is made by the lender.

The escrow requirement protects the lender. If the taxes are not paid, the tax authority could place a lien on the property that would have a higher priority than the lender’s lien. Similarly, if the insurance premiums are not paid and the house burns down or is washed away, the lender’s protection goes with it.

Credit scores have become increasingly important for American consumers. A survey released this week shows that more people seem to have realized this and have figured out their scores.

Yet most Americans do not understand what those scores mean or how they affect their ability to get mortgages, according to the survey of 1,000 adult Americans commissioned by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America and the lender Washington Mutual.

Q: Our principal residence is in the District, and we have a second home in Delaware. I know that when we sell our principal residence, we will be eligible for the exclusion of tax on up to $500,000 of the gain. I also know that we can deduct our main home’s mortgage interest and real estate taxes when we file our annual income tax return. However, we do not know how to handle this for the vacation home. Can you give us some guidance?

A: It depends on how you use your second home. This is one of the most convoluted issues in our tax laws.

For the first time in its history, the American Institute of Architects bestowed one of its top national awards, the Firm Award, to a female-owned partnership, Leers Weinzapfel Associates. The Boston firm, founded in 1982 by Andrea Leers and Jane Weinzapfel, was cited for its record of consistently outstanding architectural achievement.

Yet does this award deserve attention just because it was won by an architecture firm led by women? Is this a manifestation of sexism?

Q: DEAR BOB: My wife and I are considering selling our home. We have noticed that the median sales price of houses where we live has declined about 3 percent in the past 12 months. However, before that, home prices were going up 5 to 11 percent annually. We would hate to lose our equity by not selling now. But then she brought up the question of where we could move, as we are not yet ready for the “old folks’ home.” How important are these sales statistics? — Gabe R.

A: DEAR GABE: Sales statistics can be very misleading. Median price means an equal number of homes sold above and below that amount.

Federal Reserve policymakers expect the slumping housing market to restrain U.S. economic growth this year and next, as more Americans fall behind in their mortgage payments and lose their homes to foreclosure, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress yesterday.

Home sales are likely “to remain sluggish for a time” while declining home construction “will likely continue to weigh on economic growth over coming quarters,” Bernanke said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. “Rising delinquencies and foreclosures are creating personal, economic and social distress for many homeowners and communities — problems that likely will get worse before they get better.”

As Montgomery County faces more foreclosures, officials are launching a campaign to help homeowners understand, avoid and resolve mortgage problems.

Officials last night had a public information forum on the issue and said more will be scheduled. The county’s Office of Consumer Protection also is taking steps to increase its visibility.