Rarely is a movie sequel better than the original. I feared that HARP II (Home Affordable Refinance Program) would be another empty “cotton candy” promise from Washington with a lot of fluff and no substance.

Here we are at the end of the year. It’s always a good time to sit back and reflect on the past year. I also like to make a quick list of the lessons I have learned over the last year in Real Estate.

Every spring right around March, I start hearing all the alarms, all the warning bells, and all the Doom Sayers crying, “The Foreclosures Are Coming, The Foreclosures Are Coming!!!”

Yes, you might be better off buying now than when the tax credit was in effect. The reasons are very simple. A historic drop in interest rates and less competition if you are buying residential property under $400,000.