(MONEY Magazine) – Q. I bought 2 1/2 acres in Forbes Park, Colo. in 1981 for $7,500 and, although I have paid $5,250 in installments, as a widow I can no longer afford the payments and don't want to live there. I have tried to sell the property for more than a year, but nobody will buy. Since I cannot pay more or find a buyer, shouldn't I receive at least a partial refund as promised in my contract? Helen Horton Goldenberg Lyndhurst, Ohio A. Unfortunately, you are unlikely to get any money back and, after I explain the circumstances, you will understand one reason the late Malcolm Forbes came to be so wealthy. That's right. The Forbes Park land development in southern Colorado's Sangre de Cristo mountains is owned and operated by Forbes Inc., which was controlled by Malcolm Forbes and now is run by his heirs. The company bought the land in 1969 for about $19 an acre, according to the assessor's office, and carved it into subdevelopments like Forbes Park, where all but several hundred of the 3,346 lots -- mostly one to three acres in size -- were sold for prices ranging from $3,500 to about $8,500 each. Only a few hundred lots have as yet been developed, though, and small wonder. An engineer at the San Isabel Electric Association says it could cost anywhere from $1,500 to $34,000 to bring in electricity to a lot, never mind what you may have to do about water and sewage. It's hard to say what the properties are worth today. Eloise Sargent of San Luis Valley Real Estate, the main local agent handling resales, declares flatly: ''The lots are not selling.'' She sold only about half a dozen last year, she says, some for as little as $1,000 plus closing costs. She still has more than 80 listings and is refusing to take any new ones. Your best hope may be the contract clause that entitles buyers to a refund if they have paid principal (not interest) exceeding 15% of the purchase price. But Forbes will give back only the portion of principal over 15% -- in your case, a rebate of about $640. And there will be no refund at all if the principal doesn't exceed what the contract refers to as Forbes' ''damages'' -- which a company official says might include the cost of administering your account over the years, repossessing the land and putting it back up for sale. He adds that he can't recall Forbes Park ever paying such a refund.

Q. I have a handwritten letter from Mrs. Grace Coolidge sent while her husband Calvin was President of the United States. I knew her sons John and Calvin Jr. when we were students together, and this was a response to a sympathy note I wrote Mrs. Coolidge after Calvin Jr. died of blood poisoning. Would it have any value? Wilbur B. Lichliter Salisbury, Pa. A. Grace Coolidge, wife of ''Silent Cal,'' the nation's 30th President, probably responded to thousands of condolence notes after the death of her 16- year-old in 1924, so your note will retail for only about $75 to $125, depending on its condition. In general, demand is slack for Mrs. Coolidge's letters, which New York City handwriting expert Charles Hamilton calls ''as bland as gelatin and broth.'' To sell your letter, try Hamilton (166 E. 63rd St., Suite 18A, New York, N.Y. 10021; 212-888-0338) or Walter R. Benjamin Autographs (P.O. Box 255, Hunter, N.Y. 12442; 518-263-4133). P.S. Many dealers will offer as little as half the eventual retail price.

Q. I am a senior citizen with a small real estate business. If I earn more than $9,360 this year, the government takes back $1 of Social Security benefits for every additional $3 I make. Since I will probably net $38,000 on top of pension and investment income, my wife and I will have to pay our standard federal income tax of 33% plus a 15.3% self-employment tax plus a ''kickback'' of $9,546 of our Social Security. The total: $26,940 or an absolutely insane tax rate on earned income plus Social Security of 51%! How can I get relief? Cleve Campbell Naples, Fla. A. In this case, relief can only be spelled R-O-S-T-E-N-K-O-W-S-K-I (as in Dan), because the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee currently is about the only one standing in the way of reforming this ancient provision of the Social Security Act that affects retired people under age 70. The Social Security ''offset,'' as this outrage is called in bureaucratese, applies only to earned income; investment income doesn't count. So in theory Michael Milken could retire at 65, clip coupons and collect his full benefit, while Wanda Waitress pays the punitive kickback. (For the good news about Social Security, see the story on page 90.) Representative Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, has introduced the Older Americans Freedom to Work Act, which seeks to repeal the offset for those 65 and older. The bill already has more than enough votes to pass the House. Without Rostenkowski's endorsement, however, it may never emerge from committee. So tell Dan to dump the Social Security offset. His address? U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 20515.

Q. We have owned Midcon Oil & Gas stock since 1940 although we lost touch with the firm in 1976 after moving several times. Eleven years later, we learned that it had merged with two other companies to form Discovery West Corp. of Canada and that a 25 cents dividend had been issued. We sent our stock certificates to the transfer agent as requested but received no dividends. Over the past three years, we have written the company's chairman and president, as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, but still no dividends. Short of waving a two-by-four at these people, how can we get our money? Dr. & Mrs. Paul Sacco Rock Hill, S.C. A. Thanks to your persistence, and ours, a check should already be in your hands. Discovery West told us it sent your 1987 letters to Guaranty Trust Co. of Canada, the transfer agent that handles distribution payments and stock certificates. But in 1988, Guaranty Trust merged with another company to form Central Guaranty Trust (CGT), one representative of which said astonishingly that ''sometimes there's no rush'' to pay dividends. (Other spokesmen later denied that.) Discovery West dumped CGT last year and hired Royal Trust as transfer agent. But Royal Trust says it couldn't pay you because CGT had not forwarded your records. And CGT contends that it was unaware of your request until Royal Trust asked about it.

Q. As a graduate student passing through Zurich, Switzerland in 1969, I opened a bank account and made a deposit but do not recall the name of the bank. Is it possible to find my account? Donald Blackwelder Easton, Conn. A. Yes, but it may take a heroic effort. First write to the Swiss Bankers Association (Postfach 4182, 4002 Basel, Switzerland), which helps heirs find the assets of deceased people. If that doesn't work, consult a Zurich telephone directory at a large library for the names and addresses of all 100 or so banks. Then write to each, enclosing a copy of your birth certificate and driver's license. Good luck.