Today, a house or condo purchase is not just the acquisition of your own home. If you do everything right, you will probably buy your best investment ever.

In other words, a home purchase should be both a place to live and a great investment. For most people, their home purchase is their largest lifetime investment.

But many home buyers make major, costly mistakes. Here’s how to avoid the most significant errors:

Home buyer mistake #1: Shop for a home before you shop for a mortgage.
According to a recent National Association of Realtors survey, more than 70 percent of today’s home buyers start their search on the Internet, usually at www.realtor.com. Those searches lead to contacts with local real estate agents.

Another way many home buyers begin their quest is visiting weekend open houses held by listing agents. Buyers also contact realty agents about homes advertised in the newspaper.

While it’s fun to shop for a home using these methods, the smartest home buyers first shop for a mortgage to finance their purchase. Then they know the maximum home loan they can obtain. Surprisingly, many home buyers can afford to buy a better home than they anticipated.

Mortgage lenders are eager to issue written pre-approval letters or certificates to prospective home buyers. Usually, there is no charge. The reason is lenders know after you have their mortgage pre-approval, you are unlikely to shop among other lenders.

Expect the mortgage lender to carefully check your loan application, including obtaining a credit report, FICO (Fair, Isaac and Co.) credit score, and checking income before issuing a mortgage pre-approval. Most pre-approvals are contingent on appraisal of the home you want to buy and re-verification of your credit and income.

But don’t confuse a written mortgage pre-approval by an actual lender with a pre-qualification, which is just an opinion that you probably can get a mortgage. Pre-approvals are only issued by actual mortgage lenders, such as banks and mortgage bankers, but mortgage brokers can obtain these pre-approvals from a variety of lenders.

Home buyer mistake #2: Rush to buy a home without carefully researching the local home sales market.
Real estate agents love working with out-of-town home buyers who are in a hurry to buy a home to relocate for employment. These buyers often make quick decisions, to their later regret, because they didn’t carefully check neighborhood alternatives, school district quality and local crime rates.

Home buyer mistake #3: Buy a home with an incurable defect.
Whether you are considering a brand-new house or condominium, or a resale home, no residence is perfect.

I learned that truth many years ago from a city building inspector. After we became friends, he revealed some of the defects he saw in brand-new houses that weren’t building code violations so he had to approve those properties.

Fortunately, most homes don’t have incurable defects. These obvious problems (called “economic obsolescence” by appraisers) include a bad floor plan, poor location (such as near a noisy freeway or adjacent to the city dump), heavy street traffic and lack of adequate parking.

Home buyer mistake #4: Failure to have your own buyer’s agent
Most home buyers don’t understand the importance of having their own real estate agent looking out for their best interests.

Many buyers meet a home listing agent when they inspect a weekend open house. If they purchase that house, the listing agent obviously represents the home seller, although the agent can also act as a “dual agent” for both buyer and seller. But that is an inherent conflict of interest.

A far better alternative is for each home buyer to have his/her own agent looking out for the buyer’s best interests. Any licensed real estate agent can act as your buyer’s agent (unless that agent works at the same brokerage as the listing agent). Some buyer’s agents require signing an exclusive buyer’s agency contract. However, most do not.

Home buyer mistake #5: Failure to insist your buyer’s agent prepare a comparative market analysis (CMA) before you make your purchase offer.
Before making a home purchase offer, the smartest home buyers insist their buyer’s agents prepare a written CMA.

This form shows recent sales (not asking) prices of comparable neighborhood homes, asking prices of similar nearby homes now listed for sale, and even the asking prices of recently expired listings of neighborhood homes that didn’t sell (usually because they were overpriced).

The CMA form is the same information the listing agent presented to the seller when the asking price was set. But the local market values may have gone up or down since then. You can be sure, when your purchase offer is presented to the home seller, your buyer’s agent will use the new CMA to justify your offer price.

Without the facts in an updated CMA, any purchase offer you make is a blind guess. It might be above market value, or it might be below current market value.

Home buyer mistake #6: Failure to include reasonable contingency clauses in your purchase offer.
Some home buyers, especially in a very competitive local market, are told by their buyer’s agents not to include any contingency clauses in their purchase offers. This well-meant advice can be very risky for the buyer.

At a minimum, home buyers should include in their written purchase offers contingency clauses for (a) a satisfactory appraisal of the home for at least the offered purchase price, and (b) a professional home inspection. Additional contingency clauses might provide for customary local inspections, such as a termite (pest control) inspection clearance, building code compliance, energy efficiency and radon test.

Conclusion
Buying a house or condominium is a major personal purchase as well as a long-term investment. Home buyers who understand how to avoid major mistakes will feel confident and make sound decisions.

If you’ve just moved into your home, you’re probably preoccupied with room decor and mortgage payments rather than disaster preparation. But because your home is your biggest investment, it’s wise to have a plan in place to deal with flooding, fire, frozen water pipes, and other emergencies.

At the very least, you need to make certain that your home is adequately insured. Take flooding, for example: Even if you don’t live on a flood plain, you may be vulnerable to flooding caused by the rerouting of runoff water in newly developed areas. Or, in cold-weather parts of the country, frozen water pipes can burst and flood parts of your home.

Doing what you can to prevent disaster and cope with emergencies may be one of the most important things you can do to protect your home investment.

Natural Disasters
Learn about preparedness plans in your workplace, your schools, and your town. Be prepared for natural disasters such as:

Earthquakes
If you live in an earthquake-prone area, anchor shelves and cabinets. Avoid placing beds under heavy objects that could fall. Strap in your hot-water heater. In the event of an earthquake, stand in a doorway until the shaking subsides. Don’t light matches or candles, as gas mains can rupture during earthquakes. If you leave your home, watch out for ruptured water mains and downed power lines. Consider getting earthquake insurance if you live in a vulnerable area.

Floods
Make sure your lot drains properly and your sump pump, if you have one, is in good working condition. If your basement tends to take on some water, make sure you don’t store anything at floor level. Place power outlets high on walls and know where to cut power to them. Have an evacuation plan. Consider getting flood insurance if you live in a vulnerable area.

Tornados
Determine the best place to take shelter in your home (such as your basement) and in your community (such as your local air raid shelter). Make sure you have a portable radio so you can get information. If you have time to evacuate before a major tornado strikes, follow official directions.

Hurricanes
Hurricanes usually take time to develop and offer ample warning. If you don’t evacuate to higher or safer ground, board up windows and secure all doors. Determine the best place to take shelter in your home (away from windows, for example). Assemble supplies, such as bottled water, canned food, a medical kit, extra batteries, candles, a portable radio, and a cellular phone.

Common Emergencies
Be prepared to deal with common emergencies such as:

Gas leaks
If the smell of gas seems to be coming from an appliance such as a stove, make sure the pilot light is lit and all burners are turned off. Open your windows and doors for ventilation. If the smell of gas is strong throughout the house, exit the house immediately and call your local gas company. Do not light a match or candle, and put out any other open flame. Do not touch any electrical switches or outlets.

Power outages
If your house is the only one affected on the block, you probably tripped a circuit breaker or blew a fuse. Check the main electrical service box and reset circuit breakers or change a burned-out fuse. If there is a local power outage, call your power company to see if it is temporary. Gather flashlights and candles. Turn off appliances and electrical equipment to avoid a damaging power surge when the power comes back on. Do not open your refrigerator or freezer. Make sure you have a portable radio on hand to get local information.

Frozen water pipes
If a pipe is frozen but has not burst, turn off the water supply to that pipe and use a portable room heater to heat the area around the pipe. When the blockage melts, turn the water back on and keep it running through faucets at a trickle to keep the pipes clear until the cold weather subsides. If the pipe bursts, shut of the main water supply valve and call a plumber.

Carbon monoxide buildup
Carbon monoxide is an invisible, toxic gas that can come from automobile emissions or a faulty furnace. Install a carbon monoxide detector in your home. If it goes off, immediately open every window in the house, then exit the house and call your local fire department to ascertain the danger (it could be minor).

Emergency Checklist

Post all emergency telephone numbers (fire, police, ambulance, etc.) by all telephones in the house.

Teach all family members how to call for help, how to use a fire extinguisher, and how to turn off water, gas, and electricity at the main outlets.

Make sure your home has smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and that they work. Determine the best escape routes from the home and a place to meet outside, and practice using them.

Inspect your house periodically for volatile items that could cause a fire. Test your fire extinguisher regularly.

If you stock emergency food and water, replace stored water every three months and stored food every six months.

Document Everything
In addition to storing copies of vital home records in a safe place (such as a safe deposit box), it is important that you document the contents of your home in case you need to replace them. (This will also make processing insurance claims easier.) Have one copy of the inventory at home so you can update it, and keep the other with your home records in a safe deposit box.

Go through each room of your house with a clipboard and write down the contents, including anything stored in closets, dressers or other storage areas. Write down serial numbers and prices, and include any receipts you have.

Take pictures of valuables, such as furniture, home electronics, antiques, collectibles or jewelry. Again, include serial numbers, prices,and receipts.

Make an annotated videotape inventory. Go through each room and describe what you see as you pan the room and zero in on valuables. Note serial numbers and prices

When interest rates soared into the double digits in the early 1980s, many people were completely priced out of the home-buying market. Lenders responded with a new kind of loan that tied mortgage interest to a variable index, such as U.S. Treasury Bills, in order to go below conventional loan rates. They tacked on an extra 2 percent or 3 percent—known as the margin—to originate the loan and created the adjustable rate mortgage (ARM).
Early in the loan, interest rates on an ARM are two to three points below conventional fixed-rate mortgages, so adjustable-rate mortgages are still an option for buyers stretching their budgets. Adjustable loans also are worth considering if you plan to be in your home a short time. In exchange for a low rate in the beginning, you have to accept a monthly payment that can fluctuate, unlike a fixed-rate loan where the monthly payment is locked in. That’s because these loans are tied to indexes that go up and down. ARMs don’t adjust every month, though. Most are adjusted every year or every three years and within proscribed limits, all of which should be spelled out clearly in your loan agreement. Terms can be complicated for adjustable loans, so make sure you understand how they work.

Know your Limits
When you consider an adjustable-rate mortgage, think about the worst-case scenario:

How long will the initial interest rate remain in effect?

What will the interest rate be after the first adjustment?

How high can the interest rate go if interest rates continue to rise?

How long will it take for the rate on the ARM to reach the maximum allowed under the loan program?

An adjustable-rate mortgage that adjusts only once a year but has a higher initial rate may cost you less than one that adjusts twice a year but has a lower start rate. ARMs that adjust only once a year also enable you to prepare for monthly payment adjustments. Six-month adjustments can be more difficult to handle

Understand Indexes
Indexes are pegged to overall interest rates. Your best choice is an adjustable mortgage that has one of the least volatile indexes, that is one of the least vulnerable to frequent or major swings in interest rates. Also, the longer the term of the index, the more the borrower is protected from short-term interest rate fluctuations. For example, an ARM with a six-month U.S. Treasury bill index is more volatile than one with a one-year index. Federal Cost of Funds or the 11th District Cost of Funds indexes (known as COFIs) are considered the least volatile. Other popular indexes include Treasury securities (known as T-bills) and LIBOR (the London Interbank Offer Rate).

Have it Both Ways
Lenders have devised many options for combining the affordability of an ARM with the certainty of a fixed-rate loan. A hybrid mortgage, for example, has fixed and variable rates that change on a schedule. For example, you may pay a fixed rate (usually one-quarter to one-half percent below prevailing fixed rates) for the first three, five, seven, or 10 years of the loan, then go to an adjustable schedule for the rest of the loan. Another option is to include a clause in your loan agreement that lets you convert your adjustable loan to a fixed-rate mortgage at designated times. You’ll probably pay an interest rate or upfront fees for a convertible loan, but this can be a good option if you’re a cash-strapped buyer who needs the lower rate early on.

Want to paint your front door pink, periwinkle or purple? Let wild mushrooms grow in the back yard? Like to sunbath in the nude?

If so, I’d steer clear of buying property where you automatically become a member of a homeowners association.

On the other hand, if you like rules, regulations and restrictions that keep things tight and tidy, the only concerns you need have are:

The homeowners association has cash reserves
Its rules and board are reasonable
The board has term limits

A Growing Trend
According to the non-profit National Center for Policy Action, approximately one in six people in America, or about 50 million residents, live in a community regulated by a homeowners association. These range from co-op apartment buildings in big cities to subdivisions in small suburbs.

So when you buy a home in a new subdivision, a planned unit development (PUD), a common interest development (CID) or a co-op, it’s very likely your deed will in include something called covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) that regulate property use. As part of the deal, you automatically become a member of the association—there’s no saying “no.”

Some associations enforce each and every rule in strict military style; others are less regimented. Their purpose is to protect the community, to maintain the common property and to enhance the value of the houses or apartments in the association.

De Facto Governments
The typical homeowner’s association:
Collects association dues. These help maintain the common property, including landscaping, playgrounds, pools, security patrols.
Imposes special assessments. These are used to finance major improvements and repairs.
Enforces rules. These include house paint colors, parking policies and the like (see list below).
Fines residents who break the rules.
Forecloses. In rare cases, the board can foreclose on homeowners who cannot afford dues, assessments, fines.

Before you Sign on the Dotted Line
It’s not uncommon for homeowners to sign away their rights without realizing they’ve done so. And after you sign, it’s too late to do anything about it. So, before going to contract, find out if the property you’re considering comes with a CC&R. If it does, read the document carefully to see if the regulations are compatible with how you like to live. And ask to see the association’s financial records. If these documents are complex, your lawyer should review them with you.

Talk to any residents you know. Ask to meet with a board member. Find out what problems there may be.

The most common CC&R governs the colors you can paint your house. But they can have much broader control over other aspects of your day-to-day life. Among the things associations often regulate are:
Basketball hoops
Blinds and drapes facing the street
Boats—number and where parked
Cars—number and where parked
Clotheslines
Fences
Flag flying
Garage sales
Garbage cans
Home businesses
Lawns, landscaping, trees, hedges
Lawnmowing schedules
Mailboxes
Motorcycles, motorbikes, motor scooters
Noise
Open garage doors
Outdoor lights
Open garage doors
Pets
Pools
RVs
Roof shingles
Sheds
Signs on lawns or in windows
Swingsets
TV antennas
Trailers
Tree houses
Wind chimes

Making Changes
If, after you move in, you’re unhappy and want to get a variance, even a small variance such as getting a kitten or putting up a retractable clothesline, you’ll be required to submit an application and pay a nonrefundable administrative fee. You may be asked to attend a formal hearing. You may or may not win your case.

And, if you wish to go a step further and make a structural change, such as building a fence, adding a deck or enlarging the kitchen, you’ll not only have to get permission from the association but you’ll also be required to comply with the area’s zoning rules.

If you decide the heck with it, and fly the flag from a 12-foot flagpole even though it’s against the rules, your association can fine you. In rare cases, if you don’t pay the fine, the association has the right to collect the money by selling your house—not very likely to happen but such drastic steps could be part of the bylaws.

Fees and Assessments
Homeowners associations also have mandatory monthly fees, used to take care of any common property, such as lawns, swimming pools, jogging paths, golf courses, tennis courts, or lakeside docks. Fees are typically hiked as expenses rise.

Most associations can also impose hefty special assessments (without getting a majority membership vote) for major things such as a new roof, updated electric system, or structural shoring up of a building.

If you’re on a tight budget, these payments can be onerous. So, before moving in, find out how much and how often the board can raise fees and levy assessments.

Bottom Line: Look Before You Leap
If you move into a community run by a homeowners association, you are required to abide by its rules, like them or not. If you don’t want to live by the legally-binding covenants, then buy somewhere else. On the other hand, if the association has reasonable bylaws, an emergency reserve and intelligent board members, you will benefit from the protection it offers residents and their property.

For More Information
Read: Questions & Answers About Community Associations by Jan Hickenbottom. Available at most public libraries or from the publisher, the Community Associations Institute Research Foundation in Alexandria, VA.

Given their druthers, most people would sell their old house and buy their new house on the same day. But it’s not always possible to time the closing of the sale and the closing of the purchase within minutes of each other.

“When moving in the same geographic area, nine times out of 10 you see the closing dates coincide with each other,” says James Mason, director of sales for Internet lender MortgageIT. “Sellers and buyers usually coordinate with real estate agents so the dates do coincide and all parties are happy.”

Sometimes, though, the dates don’t coincide, despite everyone’s best efforts. There are two types of poor timing, and ways to cope with both. First, a gap in ownership occurs when you have to sell your old house a few weeks or months before you buy your new one. Second, an overlap in ownership happens when you buy your new house before closing on the sale of the old one, forcing you to pay two mortgages for a while

When you’re in-between houses
A gap in ownership is the simpler problem to deal with. You might confront an ownership gap for various reasons. Perhaps you have sold your house and moved across the country and want to familiarize yourself with your new hometown before buying a house. Or maybe construction of your brand-new house has fallen behind schedule, past the closing date on the sale of your old house.

“The most common approach,” says Dave Herpers, director of consumer affairs for mortgage lender Amerisave, “would be to rent back the property from the new owner.” Typically, he says, your monthly payment would be the same as the new owner’s mortgage payment.

Staying in the house and renting it from the new owner is the cheapest and most convenient way to deal with the ownership gap because you have to pack your stuff and move it only once, without having to pay to store it somewhere and move it twice.

A shrewd seller will anticipate the ownership gap problem and accept an offer from a seller who is flexible about the move-in date. Even if that offer is for a little less money, it might save money in the long run.

If you can’t stay in your house while you rent it, you’ll have to move in with friends or relatives, or rent a place for a while.

“You don’t want to eat up your profit in moving costs – meaning two moves – and storage costs and interim rental or hotel costs,” says Ellen Bitton, president of New York-based Park Avenue Mortgage.

The pain of two mortgages
An ownership gap can be a logistical hassle and can erode the profit you make from the sale of your home. An overlap, in which you close on your new home before you close the sale on your old home, can cause aggravation too. Your lender might not even allow you to do it.

If you have overlapping mortgages, you have to qualify for the combined monthly payments as if it were one big home loan – even if the overlap period is just a week, Herpers says.

To qualify for a loan, your mortgage payment and total debts must not exceed certain percentages of your income (the exact percentages vary, based on your credit score and other factors). Those percentages are called the mortgage and debt ratios or front-end and back-end ratios. Whatever a lender calls them, “If you exceed the ratios, you will get declined for your new loan request,” Herpers says.

Let’s say your lender looks at your ratios and determines that you can handle a maximum mortgage payment of $2,200 a month. If you are paying $1,000 a month on your current house, and the payment on your new house would be $1,500 a month, the lender won’t let you take out that second loan because you can’t afford $2,500 in mortgage payments. You’ll have to wait until you close the sale on the old house.

There are ways to get out of this trap. One way is to get a “no-ratio” mortgage, in which you don’t state your income but you verify your employment and assets. If you have a good credit history, you might be able to qualify for a no-ratio mortgage. The rate would be higher than for a conventional mortgage, but you could refinance later.

Building a bridge
A bridge loan is another method of swinging two payments. “A bridge loan takes into account the fact that somebody needs money for a short amount of time to bridge the two closings,” Bitton says. A bridge loan is backed by the equity in your old house. Typically, it is available only if someone has signed a contract to buy the old house. Rates on bridge loans often are the prime rate, plus 2 percentage points.

If you use a bridge loan, you end up with three loans – the bridge loan and mortgages on two houses. But the bridge loan acts as your down payment. It reduces the loan amount – and thus the monthly payment – for the new home, and that might be enough to let you qualify for the mortgage.

In lieu of getting a bridge loan, you could make a down payment by drawing on a home equity line of credit on the old house. Rates on equity lines of credit tend to run more than a point lower than rates on bridge loans, and you usually don’t have to pay closing fees. But you might pay a penalty fee if you sell the house less than a year after taking out the line of credit

Points versus rate
You can trade fewer or no points for a higher rate to avoid high closing costs.
Document preparation fee
Most documents are on computer. Ask for a waiver.
Processing fee
Get this paperwork handling fee waived and save up to $150.
Underwriting fee
This fee runs $150 to $300. Negotiate the lowest amount for an uncomplicated loan.
Warehouse fee
This fee can run about $200. Ask for a waiver.
* Appraisal review fee
* You should only be charged if you request a formal review.
* Notary fees
* If the lender has an in-house notary, ask for a waiver.
* Courier fees
* You may pay $50 just to courier your paperwork from the lender to the settlement agent. Deliver the documents yourself.
* Settlement, closing or escrow fee, This can reach $1,000. Negotiate with the seller to split the cost.
* Seller paid your bank costs thus you could get 5.125% apr 30 year fix rate today (6/7)

Mortgage rates fell this week when a report indicated that factories are expanding production, but just barely.

Bond and stock markets took the report as a sign that the Federal Reserve might stop raising short-term rates sooner rather than later. Mortgage rates dropped in response to their lowest levels since February.

“All I can say is: Game on,” says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. Quicken and other lenders reported a surge in loan inquiries and rate lock requests.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 7 basis points to 5.65 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The mortgages in this week’s survey had an average total of 0.28 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.34 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 4 basis points to 5.26 percent. The benchmark one-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell 2 basis points to 5.15 percent.

The last time the benchmark 30-year rate was this low was the week of Feb. 16, when it was 5.62 percent.

Bankrate’s survey this week might not have caught the full extent of the rate drop. The decline accelerated late Wednesday morning, after Bankrate had gathered rates from some lenders. It is possible, but not certain, that some of those lenders repriced mortgage rates afterward.

Bond yields and mortgage rates already had been drifting lower this week because of a weakening of the euro in relation to the dollar. Then, on Wednesday morning, the Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index for May came in at 51.4. An index above 50 indicates that manufacturing activity is growing. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had predicted that the index would come in at a stronger 52. Not much of a difference, but apparently enough to tip mortgage rates even lower and cause people to call mortgage companies.

“We’re busy,” says Tony Meola, executive vice president of home loan production for Washington Mutual. “We’re seeing a substantial increase in our rate-lock activity, and we’re seeing a substantial increase in the number of inquires from across all of our distribution channels in terms of rates and turn times.”

He says employees don’t predict rate movements, but WaMu stands ready to lock rates and close loans on time, even if there is a refinancing boomlet.

Walters says it’s a good time for some homeowners to refinance out of adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, and into fixed-rate home loans. Specifically, anyone who has an ARM that will adjust within 12 to 18 months, and who plans to remain in the house substantially longer than that, should consider refinancing into a 15- or 30-year fixed. “Right now, you can get 5.5 percent money locked down for a long time,” he says. “You get opportunities; you’ve got to take them.”

The opportunity might not last long. “I think it’s a head fake, so don’t get too excited,” says Anthony Hsieh, president of LendingTree. “It’s a dip, a temporary dip. It’s not going to signal a trend. Certainly, it’s a good opportunity for mortgage shoppers to take advantage of it.”

The employment report for May, to be released Friday morning, could spell the end of the rate dip if it brings news of robust job creation. If job creation is weak, “you’re going to see a little more momentum to drive rates downward, but again it doesn’t establish a trend,” Hsieh says.

Jay Brinkmann, financial economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, says the rate drop comes from a combination of factors. The most important, in his opinion, is French and Dutch voters’ rejection of the European Union constitution.

If you look at the reasons for rejection, Brinkmann says, “They tend to center on economic issues, which does not bode well long-term for the unified European approach to economics, monetary policy, et cetera.” There were rumors that Middle Eastern and Asian investors were pulling out of euro-denominated assets and buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, sending yields downward.

Second in importance is the manufacturing survey, Brinkmann says, and third in importance are technical issues involving trades in mortgage-backed securities

Encompass Realty says, ” rate for our clients are lower than anyone, their friends, and families, which saves the clients thousands”, consumers don’t realize the true benefits of a real estate company that will save them money guarranteed.

Residents are more likely to support affordable housing in their communities if they are sure it would not hurt property values, would not contribute to school overcrowding or would not make traffic worse, according to the third annual National Housing Opportunity Pulse survey released today by the National Association of Realtors®.

The survey also found that residents prefer affordable housing that is single-family detached housing over townhomes, low-rise or high-rise apartments; that seven out of ten residents support more open space in their community; and that three out of five feel there is a need for more residential growth in their communities.

“For the first time, we see that people support affordable housing if it is done right. This survey sheds needed light on the conditions that encourage people to support affordable housing. We hope the survey serves as a guide to local officials, developers, planners, and others involved in their communities to clearly spell out what people want, and give our leaders the political will to do what the people want,” said NAR First Vice President Pat Vredevoogd, a Realtor® from Grand Rapids, Mich.

The latest National Housing Opportunity Pulse survey of 1,600 urban and suburban residents in the top 25 media markets was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies in May 2005. As in past surveys, it found that Americans rank affordable housing as one of the two most difficult issues they face and that they worry that the cost of housing is widening the gap between those who can afford to buy a home and those who cannot.

The survey is conducted by NAR’s Housing Opportunity Program. As many as 200 housing opportunity programs are now sponsored by state and local Realtor® organizations to address local housing needs. More such programs are in the works all across the country.

NAR has also established an Ambassador to Cities Program with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to raise homeownership rates and has lobbied for the American Dream Down Payment Act signed into law last year by President Bush.

“Realtors® are the first point of contact for people trying to buy a home. We see first hand what the lack of affordable housing does to communities. Let’s hear what the people are telling us. We hope that local leaders learn from our survey and work with us to work smarter so that the lack of affordable housing will be a problem of the past,” said Vredevoogd.