Dear Karen,

I have got myself into a bit of a predicament by buying a house last year before selling the one we were living in, thinking that we would be able to sell quickly. We left some furniture in the other house so it did not look completely empty but it still hasn't sold. It is in a beautiful spot but the one thing that is hindering the process is that there is a telecom communication tower on the property, which is 7 acres, so you can hardly see it from the house and it doesn't make noise or anything. I know this isn't helping the process much but we have dropped the price so it is really cheap now and even the agent agrees. Any ideas?

B.W., Australia

Karen's reply:

In many countries of the world there are now more mobile phones (cellphones, if you're American) than fixed line phones, and phone companies are saying they need phone masts every few hundred meters in urban areas to maintain services to consumers. This problem is not going to go away.

However in your case, the situation is quite hopeful. The area up to 100 and possibly 150 meters from the mast is totally uninhabitable but beyond that the radiation probably drops off to tolerable levels.

It used to be that meters to measure these field to find out whether they are a potential health hazard were prohibitively expensive but now a private company in the UK with an excellent reputation in this area has developed a small hand-held unit called a microwave monitor. It costs UK £150 and can be obtained from:

Sensory Perspective Ltd
100 Baker Street
London W1U 6WB
Tel: +44 (0)845 003 1355
email: info@sensoryperspective.com
website: www.detect-protect.com

I suggest you invest in one of these meters and also read up on the information online at www.powerwatch.org.uk, which details safe levels for different types of masts and gives information about protective materials you can use. Then you'll be sure of your facts when talking to prospective purchasers.