"READ THE FINE PRINT."  

AUG. 2008  

In my opnion, the most important thing to do in ANY real estate transaction is to read all documents carefully.
READ THE FINE PRINT!
Never let yourself be "rushed" into signing anything.  Do not sign ANYTHING you don't fully understand.
Do not deal with unlicensed people.  Do not accept verbal promises about anything.
Anything you are promised needs to be in writing,  for your own protection.
If something sounds too good to be true,  it probably is not. 

I feel our California housing market is STILL grossly over priced,  and not many people are going to be able to qualify for financing under today's new strict underwriting guidelines.   Look for prices to continue to drop, as the next wave of foreclosures hits Southern California.

The good news is that if you are going to buy a house to live in,  and not looking for an "investment", rates are very low now for home loans, and are likely to go lower in the coming weeks.  If you plan to be in the house for at least the next 5 years,  it is a reasonable assumption that this environment we are currently in,   will have passed by then.    Now might be good time to buy under these circumstances,  because there is an over supply of inventory at this time.  You may miss the boat if you wait too long,  and prices start to go back up when the housing market recovers.  It is only speculation on MY part that prices will continue to drop,  and there is no gaurantee that this will happen.

If you are in bad "loan situation" and have made your mortgage payments on time,  you need to contact your Lender now,  and try to "renegotiate" your current rate and terms,  before you fall behind.