Gas prices are soaring and that trickles down to everything we buy. With the economy and house values slowing and health care, air fare and cost of living rising, this boils down to one definition, "recession". Bush can downplay it all he wants and remain oblivious to gas prices reaching $4.00 per/gallon, but he doesn't have to fill his tank or worry about paying his mortgage.

Bush doesn't need gas. For the rest of us however, our dollar isn't worth much anymore. I won't touch the cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, China, or spy tactics implemented in the US because after all, we need to remain protected against those pesky weapons of mass destruction at all cost.

I remember when we had to walk 10 miles barefoot to school in 3ft. of snow. I remember drinking water from the tap using a glass, and stopping the ice cream truck with fifty cents in hand. Oh yeah, I also remember buying a gallon of gas for less than a buck. Now, the same tap water is sold for over a dollar per plastic bottle which is doing wonders for the environment, ice cream trucks require a credit card, and gas is going... four get it.

The real estate market is experiencing price and percentage drops that we haven't witnessed in well over twenty years. Banks and mortgage brokers are being tied to their chairs and lashed due to all the sub-prime garbage they were putting through a few years ago. Things are changing for the better though! (at least on the buy side of real estate) I say this with confidence because it really doesn't take a genius to realize that now is a great time to buy a home even though the media milks the crisis claims. The only real crisis stems from those who refinanced their homes to pay their bills or purchased a home well above their means with a ridiculous loan that they should have read and understood before signing. Those are the majority of people giving up on their property and handing it over to the bank.

The seller crisis, (value and equity) has evolved due to a former increase in belief that the prices were justified. Another contributor are bank owned homes hitting the market in a distressed state and therefore bringing down the surrounding homes once they've sold. That's called market value and unfortunately, real estate appraisers base their value on comparables in the area.

What does that mean for the new home buyer or investor? It screams, "Buy me!" Buy me now and I'll love you later. All the previous home owners will become renters. All the homes the banks are desperately trying to sell, (and by the way, they really don't know how to handle this) are going for well below even the market values we're in. It costs a bank approximately $50,000 to sell a foreclosure. They don't want to hold them very long. Now is the time to purchase property when the market is down. Now is the time to collect rental property like Monopoly deeds, purple ones included.

When any market is down including real estate, that's always the best time to buy and throughout history, long term real estate investing has always had the best return. People will always need shelter and a place to call home. This isn't a fad market or investment.

I only recommend you purchase however, if you're planning on holding the property or living in it for at least the next five years. Let the market stabilize. There are of course exceptions to this. You're allowed to grab a fabulous deal and flip it if you do it correctly: (right price, condition, area, and with proper resources.)

Get a foreclosure tattoo on your credit and there's no buying another home for about a decade. Where are they going to live? Many of these families that have lost their homes are decent, responsible people as ironic as that sounds. Most have just fallen into a trap and while ignorance is no excuse, it's not a permanent label so says the credit bureaus.

Bush has big plans to save us in the 11th hour. Maybe we can get all the banks to throw us a fondue party in our honor. Then we can crack open the champagne and they'll forgive all exaggerated debt freeing the nonexistent equity of ten million homes.

Bottom line: Interest rates are awesome, FHA has raised their price guidelines, homes are available for much less than rent, stop buying bottles of tap water, people will forever need a place to call home, Bush has gas but we pay for it, it's time to spend less, being a landlord has never looked better, and God bless America because outside of real estate, we need it.

More info on your stop foreclosure information search:

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