Q: I’ve been looking to buy a home for some time now but all the news abut the economy has me scared.

And, people keep telling me that it’s almost impossible to get a loan. But I see that there are a large number of homes for sale on Vashon in my price range and some of them look really good. I’d love to buy while there is a good selection of homes but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get financing.

A: The media is so full of bad news that it’s easy to miss the good news. There is good news, especially for real estate buyers. There are many reputable lenders left out there who are offering excellent interest rates at reasonable fees. Even the FHA has made an effort to offer very attractive loan programs.

This is a great time to buy. I have always been prejudiced in favor of investing in real estate as opposed to the stock market. That doesn’t mean that diversifying is bad, it’s just that with real estate you have something that is…..well…….real! You can rent it out, sell it, or most important, live in it!

We have an outstanding inventory of homes in all price ranges and with a slower market you have more time to look at everything and really compare. If you have good credit and sufficient income to qualify you will find it easy to get a good, conservative, long term mortgage at a great rate.

You can still buy a home with no money down by just paying closing costs, or get better interest rates with a more substantial down payment. While we’ve been watching the melt down of many financial institutions lately, there are still those who didn’t put all of their eggs in the high risk basket. Those folks can still offer you a great fixed rate mortgage that will get you into your own home.

Remember that you’re losing money every month by paying rent and you’re not able to take advantage of the tax deduction of mortgage interest that can save you thousands every year.