Your Real Estate Horoscope for 2009

If your home is presently underwater, Aries, there is no better person to handle a short sale than yourself. In fact, you may be thanking your stars for that recall button on your phone as you dial that lender's number over and over. You are so organized that you don't even have to look up your loan number because it's committed to memory.

Pushy negotiators have no idea with whom they are dealing when you get them on the phone. You're not about to take no for an answer. You can negotiate with short sale banks. It doesn't even phase you when the lender repeatedly loses your short-sale package because, lucky you, you've made a dozen copies. Because you're on top of the process, your short sale will get approved.

You have scrimped and saved for years to buy a home, Taurus, and every home you would consider buying has been priced too high. Rejoice in 2009 because you'll find no better time to realize your dream of becoming a first-time home buyer than in April. Interest rates are low and prices have been beaten into the ground.

Start scouting the market in February, before the pre-April rush of home buyers. When you think about it, you may decide that you deserve a brand new home with all the bells and whistles. Pay special attention to builder's closeouts of model homes because there is a home in that inventory with your name on it. If you ask for it, the builder will throw in the furnishings and pay your closing costs, too.

You've been trying to weigh the odds of renting versus buying, Gemini, but now that the market is flooded with bank-owned homes for sale, a mortgage payment on one of those would be less than monthly rent. 2009 is the year to buy! In fact, you realize that if you decided to buy a home with an outdoor kitchen, you could entertain all your friends and family out in the yard without messing up the house.

It won't matter to you how many loan applications you fill out because there will always be a better interest rate around the corner. Be careful with the commitments you make because once you have decided to lock a loan rate, it is considered honorable for you to stick with that lender, regardless.

Because you crave security, Cancer, you've talked to neighbors before buying and have concluded that if single women buy homes in that neighborhood, it must be a safe area. Your new home might be a bit smaller than you anticipated, but your mortgage payment is much lower, too.

In fact, you look forward to buying a home your pets will love. Keeping your pets happy is a priority to you. A big back yard is essential to your well being because you love to plant tiny seeds in the dirt and watch them grow. Remember to take before and after photographs of your garden so you'll have a record of how much you have transformed your yard.

It's no surprise to you, Leo, that after you thought about how much real estate agents make, going into real estate may seem like a good occupation for you. You know who pays the real estate commission, and you've got lots of friends who are just this close to putting their homes on the market. All that business could be yours.

Since you love to be the focus of any group of people, handing out business cards while shaking hands and kissing babies is even more profitable when you're a real estate agent than, say, a politician. You will soon become a top producer and hire your own team to handle the day-to-day real estate agent duties that you dislike. Delegating is your strength.

You need to hire a real estate agent who possesses unlimited patience, Virgo, because you are very choosy about your first home. You've made a list of every feature you want in a home and, gosh darn it, it doesn't matter if you look at homes every weekend for a year, you will find a home that fits your bill.

You're not going to buy a fixer upper because you have neither the time nor the inclination to make repairs or figure out how to repair things such as replacing a toilet. Your new home will be turnkey and exactly the way you have imagined. You will also interview mortgage brokers, choosing a broker and loan that makes you feel most comfortable.

Before putting your home on the market, Libra, you have listened to your real estate agent and prepared your home for sale. Excess furniture will go into storage and you'll paint that bright red wall a neutral color, won't you? If your agent suggests home staging, you'll do it because you want your home to sell quickly at a higher price.

It would be a good idea for you to round up all your neighbors and host a multi-family open house potluck. Your organizational skills will help you. You have the ability to talk each of your neighbors into preparing a special dish for the occasion. As a result, many home buyers will tour the homes in your subdivision, allowing your home to sell in record time.

You're the type of home seller, Scorpio, who can get away with issuing a full-price counter offer to a buyer, and the buyer will accept it. Buyers should know better than to make a lowball offer to you because you know exactly how much your home is worth. You're a master negotiator who believes in writing your own rules.

You're not about to make the worst mistake a seller can make. You have hired an experienced agent and priced your home in line with the comparative market analysis. Your resourcefulness is astonishing. Why, installing a night light on top of your for sale sign is an excellent idea, and you thought of that all on your own.

You've been day dreaming, Sagittarius, about the best place to live in America. It's time to get out there and explore. You should cancel Halloween at your house and hit the road. Would you like to live in the mountains, at the ocean or in the desert? After all, you know it's all about location, location, location.

If you're unmarried, you have been wondering if you should buy a home before marriage. Your passion for life and your zest for excitement is overwhelming at times to those around you, but your thoughtfulness is irresistible. You also are savvy enough to avoid making the three major home buying mistakes, and when you find the right place to live, you'll also find the home that rocks your world.

The perfect strategy for you, Capricorn, is to buy a foreclosure. Most REOs are priced below market value, so you'll satisfy your conservative urge to play it safe in a down real estate market, and that purchase will prove to be a fail-safe way to enter the housing market with little risk.

You're also willing to do what it takes to reach your goals. No job is insurmountable to you. You can hire contractors to fix up your new home and still spend little out-of-pocket. An FHA Streamlined-K loan might be the perfect solution for you since it will provide funds for repairs and roll those costs into your loan. Just the thought of buying a home for so little is enough to carry your dream through to fruition.

You care about the environment, Aquarius, and protecting the Earth is high on your list of priorities. Nobody is surprised that you drive a Prius. You understand the greening of America and are disgusted by the pretentious drive for profit disguised as an environmental concern. Moreover, buying a green home is the only type of home you would ever consider, providing you're willing to give up on living in a grass hut.

You donate time to helping such nonprofit organizations as Habitat for Humanity, but you don't feel you qualify to participate in the program as a homeowner. Your social conscience leads you. You can actually afford to buy a home with an FHA loan, but you also aren't going to buy any home that isn't green. Hire a green agent.

The financial struggle you face, Pisces, is because you give away too much of your money to charity, and you're not concerned with material wealth. You'd be happy living in a cave if it made other people around you happy. You are selfless and compassionate. It's time for you to realize that maybe you should not buy a home.

You've read a review of the top 10 real estate stories for 2008, and it doesn't make you feel good about the world around you. If you can't feel good about the world, you can't be happy joining the ranks of those who take out conventional fixed-rate mortgages. With that said, you might consider buying a home the seller rented out because it will cost you less to own it than to rent it. But you still have doubts.