Having decided on loan you want, your next step is to meet with lender. Nowadays, most people prefer to meet with mortgage company before starting hunt for a house because by 'pre-qualifying' like this, you become more attractive as a buyer. The seller will know you are a serious buyer because you already have your finance in place, and can thus probably move quickly if a deal is struck. It also means you only go see houses in right price range - nothing hurts more than finding a dream home then failing to get a loan for it due to size of loan required.

When you meet lender, always remember to ask what kind of 'lock in' deals they are offering. A lock in, also called a rate lock or rate commitment, means lender will hold a quoted interest rate and a certain number of points for you while your loan application is being processed. Some lenders allow you to lock in interest rate and number of points you'll be charged when you file your application, some do it during processing of loan, while others prefer to do it when loan is approved, or later.

And now all you have to do is find that dream house!

At equilibrium, there is no competition either to buy or to sell, because everyone can buy or sell however much they may wish, at going price. But whenever market is away from equilibrium, competition will arise and tend to force it back.

Alfred Marshall (1842 - 1924) compared supply and demand sides to two blades of scissors One won't cut by itself. You have to have both!

One of key words in economics is "allocation." To allocate resources is to determine who gets use of what resources. An obvious case of allocation of resources is when market processes of bidding, buying and selling determines who gets use of what resources. That is, in effect, markets can allocate resources.

Accordingly, economics is centrally concerned with workings of markets, and with question, how do markets allocate resources? One answer to that question is expressed in familiar phrase, "Supply and Demand."

The allocation of resources through markets is a complex process. There are several models of resource allocation through markets, but model of "Supply and Demand" is best known and most widely used model!

Copyright © 2005 I.E.C. Haramis haramis@greekshares.com http://www.greekshares.com

Ioannis - Evangelos C. Haramis was born in Greece in 1951. Studied Business Administration, Marketing and Economics in Greece, USA and in Belgium.