Contact a lender before your viewing of homes for sale and get pre-approved. You need to determine your loan eligibilty and need to know how much you can invest in your purchase. This will help you and your Realtor with the search for the perfect home, in your price range.

When you find the perfect home, the Seller will take your offer much more seriously knowing you are already approved by a lender.

ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages): Most of the troubles in the current mortgage market are the result of adjustable-rate mortgages, which often feature very low introductory interest rates. Once the rate adjusts after 2 to 3 years, many homeowners can’t meet their monthly payments.

Nearly 2 million homeowners have ARMs that will adjust higher by the end of 2008. Of those, the Federal Housing administration estimates that 500,000 could go into foreclosure.—-Buyers, my advice to you is to understand the type of mortgage you are getting.