In order to reduce expenses, some cash-strapped home buyers are teaming up with a friend to buy a home together as tenants in common instead of buying as a single person.

Personally, I think most single people are better off trying to qualify for a home on their own and taking on a roommate in a rental capacity rather than in a co-owner capacity. The reason is if it's your home, it's your rules. If you own a home with another person, you've got to make compromises.

Plus, taking on a roommate can help make your mortgage payment more affordable . . . read more about Roommates.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• 10 Good Reasons Not to Buy a Home
  
• Buying a Home the Seller Rented
  
• Safety Tips for Women Home Buyers

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}

I get calls from a lot of underwater sellers who ask about buying a new home before selling a short sale.

It's a perfectly reasonable question. Sellers want to know if they should buy a home while their credit is still good and before they do a short sale. Seems to make sense to a lot of people. But it's not as easy as one may think because there are basically 3 ways to buy before a short sale, two of which automatically disqualify a seller from buying.

The first thing to think about is why would a short sale lender let you do a short sale if you could qualify to buy a new home? . . . read more about Buying a New Home Before Selling a Short Sale.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Do You Need a Lawyer to Do a Short Sale?
  
• Top 10 Reasons for Short Sale Failures
  
• How to Do a Bank of America Short Sale

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}

You can't put off offer acceptance or rejection. I realize that sellers would prefer to have the luxury of a little bit of time to think about an offer and ponder its significance. The amount of money a seller nets can make a huge difference and has a bearing on future plans. It's a big deal to sell a house. Sellers might need to discuss the ramifications of an offer with other family members.

But it's also a big deal to the buyer. Buyers don't want to wait very long to get an answer. The longer a buyer waits, the more anxious a buyer becomes. Plus, if a seller drags her feet, a buyer might think the seller is playing games, maybe waiting for a better offer, and that can infuriate a buyer like there is no tomorrow.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• What is a Backup Offer?
  
• How to Negotiate Multiple Purchase Offers
  
• Making a Good Offer on a Home

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}

Buyers tend to lean toward checking out foreclosures for one reason and one reason only, and that is to buy a cheap foreclosure.

Because it's the cheap price on that foreclosure that makes up for the hassle of dealing with the bank, the asset manager, the confusing bank addendums and the foreclosure bank's 'as is' policy. At least in theory that's how it's supposed to work. But not every foreclosure is a cheap foreclosure.

I'm seeing movement, though, toward banks pricing their foreclosures more in line with the comparable sales. Of course, many of those comparable sales are, no surprise here, short sales and foreclosures . . . read more about cheap foreclosures.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• How to Make a Foreclosure Offer
  
• The Drawbacks to Buying a Foreclosure
  
• Should You Buy a Foreclosure or a Regular Home?

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Technorati tag: cheap foreclosure

_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}