As you look for properties on HUDforeclosed.com, you will find plenty of great deals. But it may also seem a bit overwhelming to see the sheer quantity of homes, areas to search through, and types of homes you can buy.

How to make a decision?

Short sales on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac homes (that's 57% of U.S. mortgages) nearly quadrupled in the first nine months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008. At the nation's largest mortgage servicers, short sales soared 165% to 74,513 in the first nine months of 2009 from the year-earlier period.

Resistance is softening. Banks and investors are increasingly willing to agree to a short sale as a less costly option to foreclosure.

A prefabricated home for $2.5 million? Believe it or not, not only do they exist, but the market for these modular mansions is booming.

Buying a short sale can be tremendously profitable, and the current condition of the market makes it a great time to buy.

A "short sale" is a home sale where the selling price is below the amount owed to the lender on the home. Lenders may agree to such a sale if foreclosure seems imminent.

Location, location, location.
We're all heard that song before, haven't we?

So the question becomes, how DO you choose the right neighborhood when looking for a new home? Sometimes the choice is made for you - Grandma lives in Lancaster, the wife wants to be near Mom, and Lancaster it is for the family. Or a job opportunity takes you to Chicago, in which case your options are still many - as long as they're within 40 miles of downtown.

Sometimes though, the options are wide open.

Why wait? Buy a home now!

Seriously, this is one of those times. You'll be kicking yourself down the road if you don't.

First of all, interest rates, currently at an all-time low in decades, are very likely to start creeping up later this year. The reason for this is that the Federal Reserve has been able to keep rates low by buying debt and mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - but that won't go on forever. Most likely is will stop after March, and then we'll see rates go up.

There's some good news on the foreclosure front!

Fannie Mae has made it easier to purchase foreclosures. They will now cover the closing costs on purchases of its foreclosures (REO's), in hopes of reducing its over-supply of repossessed foreclosed properties.

There are some good news for home buyers: 30-year mortgage rates have dropped back down to their record low mark. This, combined with the generous government tax credits in place for virtually all Americans to buy a home, has made it a great time to buy a home.

Foreclosures also remain high, meaning that there's significant pressure on prices -- it remains a buyer's market in most areas. Those factors combined sound like a good recipe that should result in a great time to buy a home.

A couple in Phoenix got some really bad -and really odd- news when they learned that Chase had foreclosed and sold their home.

Jeff and Yanthy Zerner were not behind on their payments. They were approved for a mortgage modification just days before they received a notice to vacate the property. When Jeff contacted the number he was given, he learned that the house had been in foreclosure, and it had been bought.

Great news! The $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit has been extended.

The tax credit, originally set up as a no-interest loan back in 2008, was converted this year as a full tax credit as part of the stimulus package for "first-time" buyers only.  The new law extends the tax credit to all sales up to April 30, 2010, and extends the credit to existing home owners as well.

According to the Associated Press, the House voted 403-12 in favor of the law granting the extension.