Home inspections have become a common part of the home-buying process in Georgia. But what exactly should you expect from your inspection, and what happens when a home fails  the inspection process? Here are the questions I am asked most frequently: What exactly is a home inspection? A home inspection is an impartial visual examination of the physical structure and major internal systems of a residential building, much like a physical exam that your doctor might perform on you.

Q: We want to do away with old shrubs in front of our house and replace them with several loropetalum shrubs. When should we plant them? -- David Decker, Fayetteville A: Now is a fine time to plant, but your first step is to choose the right loropetalum variety.

Q: I heard you talking about coffee beans on the radio, but I didn't hear whether we can grow them in Georgia. -- Thom Lucas, Atlanta A: There are dozens of species of coffee plants, several of which yield beans from which coffee can be brewed. The plant I saw on my recent garden trip to Costa Rica was Coffea arabica.

Kid-Friendly Living Man caves aren’t just for adults. That’s what Marquita Rawlins found out during her home search. Her 11-year-old son, Jayden, wanted his own spot in the basement to play video games and watch TV. The priority Rawlins, 27, a health care auditor, wanted to invest in the future by buying a home.

Senior Living Single-level living south of Atlanta brought Pete and Elaine Agur to Sun City Peachtree. The couple decided their 6,000-square-foot home in McDonough’s Eagles Landing community, where they lived for 14 years, was too much to maintain. Elaine, 70, who retired 10 years ago from the Coca-Cola Co.

Happy New Year. The old year is nearly over and the start of a new one is hours away. At least, that’s what the calendar — and the tax collector — says. On a cosmic scale, Jan. 1 marks the start of another orbit of Earth around the sun, during which our planet will travel some 583,416,000 miles in a little more than 365.

Q: Recently I had many very tall pines removed from behind my house. I want to plant trees or large bushes back there so that the birds and squirrels will have a good habitat. -- Amy Koon, Snellville A: Whether you are a squirrel, bird or human, three things determine your survival: food, water and shelter.

Most of us perform multiple functions in our busy, hectic lives. So why shouldn’t our living quarters do the same? With the downsizing trend and the desire to be smarter about spending home improvement dollars, more Atlanta homeowners are finding ways to create double-duty rooms.

Kid-Friendly Living Randall and Yvonne Dragon decided to leave Atlanta and move to Decatur so their children -- 4-year-old Ava Mary, and 1 ½-year-old Davis -- could attend class in the local school district. The priority The couple desired to purchase in a walkable community with top schools and wanted to remain close to Randall’s job at commercial real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle and Yvonne’s job at Georgia State University's Small Business Development Center in downtown Atlanta.

Q: My granddaughter found a persimmon while walking the dogs. Can I plant it and have a tree in my yard? -- Gene Brannon, e-mail A: You can certainly plant it and eventually get a tree but there is a caveat. The seed might produce either a male or female persimmon tree.

This is the time of year when many folks ask: Where are the birds? The typical story is that birds suddenly have stopped coming to feeders. In some cases, all the birds seemed to have disappeared. In other cases, certain species -- robins, mockingbirds, cardinals -- seem to have become scarce in yards.

Property values have fallen significantly in most metro Atlanta counties, so governments have, in many cases, raised millage rates to compensate for the drop in revenue. But if you don't get your assessment lowered, you end up paying more than your fair share of the property tax burden.

In the post-World War II era, the suburbs were paradise. Homeowners longed to get away from it all in quiet cul de sacs tucked within neighborhoods far from the roar of commerce and city life. But a new breed of homeowner is looking for a very different experience: a sense of connectivity and community not always available in traditional suburbs.

To catch the last of autumn’s colors, we took a walk last weekend with one of my most favorite naturalists, Jerry Hightower, in one of my most favorite wild places -- the East Palisades unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. Only a few minutes from Buckhead, the unit harbors a mature hardwood forest, spectacular rock formations and breathtaking views of the Chattahoochee.

By John Adams For the AJC Major changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) were announced recently by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The biggest change will allow some homeowners to refinance their homes, even though they owe more on their existing loan than their homes are worth.

Q: Yesterday I saw a fat little squirrel licking the brick and mortar on my front steps over a 2-square-foot area. It was quite moist with saliva. If he had kept going, I wouldn’t have to pressure-wash for a while! -- Betty Roper, Roswell A: Squirrels have a reasonably diverse diet during summer, but fall ushers in a period of scarce food.

After living in Brookhaven for 12 years, Franziska Shepard needed a home with more space for her two boys, Spencer, 7, and Sterling, 10. That meant finding a home with extra room, both indoors and out. The priority A basement, because her three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath Brookhaven home didn’t have one.

Tom Dunn and his family decided to return to the Atlanta area to live closer to relatives. The challenge was that Dunn’s job in Columbia meant weekends were the only time available to search for a home. Agent Susan Craig with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage made her weekends available, helping narrow the search down to these three homes in Alpharetta.

You might have read about or saw on TV the two giant sequoia trees, each more than 150 feet tall, that fell to the ground last month along the Trail of the 100 Giants in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Amazingly, a tourist captured the spectacular event on video, which was shown on TV news across the country.

After living in a two-story Smyrna home for more than 50 years, 82-year-old Virginia Smith purchased a one-story foreclosure in Canton, next door to one of her daughters. Fixing up the home became a family project, with Smith, daughter Maureen Evans and her son-in-law, Randy Evans, working together to renovate the residence.

Now we have November, when the evenings grow darker and the mornings frostier. After Sunday, when we set our clocks back an hour, darkness will descend -- by our clocks, at least -- an hour earlier each evening. Dinnertime will be well after sunset and evening strolls will be done under streetlights.

Hamilton and Ellen Evans spent several Saturdays earlier this year driving from Sandy Springs to Alpharetta in search of a home. The couple was renting a Buckhead apartment but wanted to move closer to their jobs in those suburbs, and they went the extra distance to weigh all of their options.

Metro Atlanta homeowners are obsessed with home improvements. But which projects give you the most bang for your buck? Part of the benefit is your personal satisfaction, while another part is the added value should you decide to sell your home. For those reasons, plus the fact that no two homes are exactly alike, your list may look a little different than mine.

Green Living Leading a green lifestyle often focuses on removing used items from your home in an earth-friendly fashion. Some people, however, are choosing to bring recycled glass products into their home, in a way that shows off personal style and an environmental conscious attitude.

Heralded for its durability and practicality, tile is a workhorse surface in most American homes. But lately tile has moved from hard-working bit player to glamorous featured performer. Tile in 2011 is an expressive, fashion-forward and adventurous medium with the power to utterly transform a home.