As of the End of October there have been over 1 million home that are in or have been in some stage of foreclosure. That number is rising every day. With Higher tax bills now coming due and higher Insurance premiums in the future it looks very bleak. Many of these homeowners (or ex-homeowners) had the misfortune also to have a Arm. Many of them were told that a Arm is the way to go to get into that dream home (nightmare). Everywhere you look the Lenders are still pushing Arms because of their low start rate. They do not care if you can afford the payment later because we are the NOW generation. We want it and We want it NOW. Many of the Now generation Homes will be the FORECLOSURE Homes in the future. Plan very carefully. Shop hard. Make offers and do your homework so you will not be one of these statistics. The first thing is that you need to have good credit scores. You can check your credit scores online at My Fico.Com or Equifax.Next, you need to have some savings for a 5% or more down payment. Do you have a good way to save for a down payment? We highly recommend Emigrant Direct. They pay one of the highest rates in the country on their savings account, with no minimums, no fees.