The Real Estate Adviser on Bankrate.com has answered an important question from a reader: Does a registered sex offender living in your neighborhood affect your home's value? The unfortunate answer is "yes."

One study found that a sex offender within one-tenth of a mile of your home makes your house sell for about 17% less than comparable homes without a sex offender in the neighborhood. If a sex offender is within two-tenths or three-tenths of a mile from your home, expect a 9% to 10% lower sales price. A separate study found that homes within one-tenth of a mile of a sex offender only sold for 4% less than comparable homes.

Even though there is a range of numbers presented, it's clear that the presence of a registered sex offender in your neighborhood will have an impact on the sale price of your home. It's no wonder. What parent would buy a house in close proximity to a registered sex offender? For most parents, that's too big a risk to take when you know your child will want to play outside during summer.

This is a good time to remind buyers to check registries to see if a sex offender is living in the neighborhood you're considering. If you can't locate a registry, check with the local police station for guidance on sex offender registration. You want to make an informed choice before you buy a home for your family.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

If you sell your personal residence and you make a profit, you may not have to pay taxes on all or part of it. You don't have to pay tax on the capital gain of up to $250,000 per spouse, provided that you pass certain tests.

You must have owned the house for at least two out of the last five years. You also must have lived in the house for at least two of the last five years. If you don't fully meet both of these tests, you might still be able to get out of paying tax on at least part of the profit from the sale if you had to sell the house because of a change in place of employment, divorce, natural disaster, or certain other unforeseen circumstances.

More information about the tax reporting rules for the sale of your home can be found in IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

If you've been living in your house for the last two years and it's only your personal residence (no business use claimed on any tax returns) you can profit up to $250,000 on the sale and still not owe any taxes. If you're married filing jointly, you can profit up to $500,000 without paying any taxes.

If you've lived in your home less than two years and sell it for a profit, you still may not owe any taxes. It will depend on how long you lived there and your reason for selling.

If you've had a home office or used part of the house for rental or other business purposes, you will probably have to report a gain on that portion of the sale and pay taxes on it. But fear not, the portion of the house that was strictly for your personal living purposes will still qualify for an exclusion of profits from your tax returns.

All the details about the tax impact of selling your home can be found in IRS Publication 523.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.