Things could be much worse in Atlanta, Georgia. Compared to the national real estate market, this area has been strong, but the pace has slowed. This slower pace of the housing market means prospective buyers can take their time choosing a home. The cut and push of the real estate bubble days has really burst, but this can only be good news for the buyer.

The hardest-hit neighborhoods in Atlanta are the ones that saw home prices escalate rapidly, some of which saw increases of as much as 20% in one year, and are now simply adjusting. Most Atlanta prices have remained firm, and Atlanta hasn’t seen the dramatic swings in home prices that other places have experienced.

However, in one respect Atlanta has suffered the same fate as the rest of the nation and that is in the fact that home sales are slower so houses are piling up on the market; inventory is large.

If you’re a prospective buyer, you now have the most choice, the lowest interest rates, and eager sellers, which means you have the right climate to negotiate the price or terms of sale.

Since the government has also made sure that subprime mortgages are off the menu, you should be able to negotiate a fair mortgage, if you have a good credit rating. One way to make sure you keep your finances affordable is to take out a fixed-rate mortgage.

Fixed rate means that the amount of your monthly installments will never change once they are agreed and the payment will only change when the agreed term is met. This is usually five, ten or fifteen years. This time period should not be confused with the ‘amortization period’, which is the number of years it would take you to pay off that loan at that rate.

So if you get a mortgage with a 25 or 40 year amortization period and a fixed rate of 5% or 6% interest on that loan for one year, that’s not what you want. This could mean that after a year you will be facing a change in your monthly payment plan; You could zip it up and this is what is happening to many distraught homeowners right now.

You’ll need 25 or 40 year amortization, that part is fine, and so is 5% or 6%, but you need it preferably over 10 years while you stand up. The mortgage rate is so low that many financial experts would tell you to lock in this interest rate for 10, 15, or 30 years.

A broker, bank, or your real estate agent can use a table to calculate exactly what your repayments will be for a certain loan amount. For example, if you think you want to borrow $100,000, you can be told, in advance, a monthly amount that this will cost you in payments.

You can also solve this yourself by using some internet websites. If this loan is affordable for you, then make sure the “term” of the loan is for several years. It may cost a higher interest rate to “fix” it for longer (it almost always does), but it is a security measure.

Most first-time homebuyers calculate their affordable loan before looking for a home. This way, they will only search for homes in their affordable price range. Then you need to add your house taxes, water bill, utilities, and all your other expenses. The secret is that all your expenses are much less than what you earn each month.

Consulting with a mortgage broker for how much you can qualify for and what the payments will be and how long the mortgage term will be, costs you nothing and does not commit you to anything. You don’t need to sign anything (except maybe a form to check your credit score).

It is much wiser to check the possibilities of your mortgage before you go looking for a house. This way you will be ‘pre-approved’ and taken more seriously by sellers. This will give you more bargaining power to lower the price or ask for extras and also the sale will be faster.

If you find a home first, you may be tempted to rush things and agree to a reckless financial deal just because you can’t risk losing ‘the perfect home.’