(MONEY Magazine) – Q. I have a long-term horizon for investing in intermediate-term bonds, so would I be better off buying 10-year treasuries via Treasury Direct and saving the fees of a bond mutual fund? NAME AND ADDRESS WITHHELD

A. You can definitely avoid the fund fees by buying your treasuries outright. Plus, if you hold the bond until maturity, you're guaranteed to get the full value. The downside is that you must find somewhere to reinvest the interest since you cannot put it back into the bond. With a bond fund, the yield you average over a long period could end up being higher or lower than the one you can lock in today with a bond; it all depends on where interest rates go. However, you can reinvest your interest back into the fund. If you go with a fund, look for a no-load or index fund with low expenses.

Q. I just finished reading a book called Investing in IPOs. The book mentioned that mutual funds buy huge blocks of stocks of initial public offerings. Is there any way I can find out what mutual fund is buying which IPO stock and how much the fund has invested? WINSTON MURPHY JR. WICHITA

A. Not even the psychic network can tell you what fund managers are planning to buy and when--and if they did, that would be insider trading and you know what happens to those guys. The next best step, if you don't mind the roller-coaster ride up and down the Nasdaq, is to invest in a few mutual funds that specialize in IPOs--mainly those that buy the industry du jour, currently Internet and biotech stocks. The problem with this indirect approach is that you don't know what was bought and sold, or when, until the fund issues a semiannual report. By then you may have incurred a huge capital gain--or loss.

Q. If I own properties in two states, can I arbitrarily choose the one I want to be my legal residence, or does it depend on how much time is spent in each? One state (Rhode Island) has an income tax, the other (Florida) does not. DENISE WARBURTON EAGLE RIVER, ALASKA

A. Every January as I shovel snow and sidestep ice patches on my Brooklyn sidewalk, I dream of extended winter vacations in the balmy breezes of Boca Raton. Ah, yes, I'd love to give up New York's high tax rate for Florida's tax freedom, but three or four months of "snowbirding" isn't enough.

Many states, including Rhode Island, are really picky about this residency thing--right down to the day-count of where you live. So if you live in one of these states for more than 183 days, you will be considered a resident. And if that state has an income tax, you will be expected to pay. To find out more about a state's residency policy, contact that state's department of taxation.

Q. I currently have a Transamerica annuity that I want to draw funds from. I'm not 59 1/2 years old yet, but I'm a disabled paraplegic. Am I still liable for the 10% early-withdrawal penalty? CRAIG WINTER EAST HARTFORD, CONN.

A. As with anything related to the Internal Revenue Service, the answer is a big maybe--if you meet the agency's definition of disabled, says Karen Field, senior tax manager for KPMG. To qualify for the disability exception, you must be "unable to engage in any form of gainful activity."

Even if you're not disabled, you may be eligible to sidestep the IRS' 10% penalty. However, the rules are very specific. To find out if you qualify, go to www.irs.gov, click on publications and look up either Publication No. 575 (Pension and Annuity Income) or Publication No. 590 (IRAs).

REPORTER ASSOCIATE: Judy Feldman