The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have agreed to a $200 billion bottle of Drano that will help to unclog the gunk clogging lending pipelines, but will it be enough to save the spring selling season?

It could if the GSEs can buy higher-limit loans in concert with loans going to consumers at lower interest rates.

Right now, that's possible. If you are a buyer or have a client who is a buyer, now is the time to lock in a rate, and go shopping for a home.

But keep in mind that your mortgage lender can't lock in your rate unless you've applied for a mortgage. That means that you've selected a lender, provided certain information so that the lender can pull your credit report and credit score, and that the lender has gotten back to you with your lock-in and APR rate.

Your rate is good for 30 days usually, and you can pay points to get the lock extended if you haven't started shopping for a home yet.

Now I know what you're thinking. Rates have swung wildly in the last few days, and you might like to hold off so you can catch rates down another quarter point or so. But there's a risk in doing that.

But there's a risk in doing that. You could get a lower rate, or rates may do the opposite and go up.

Right now, nobody knows what they will do. Veteran mortgage lenders like our own David Reed say they have never seen an interest rate environment like this before.

Reed advises that in times of such uncertainty, investors who want their money to work for them place it in bonds; and now that the Fed and OFHEO have come to the aid of conventional mortgages, we could see rates drift lower.

It's up to you if you want to take the chance.

One advantage to locking is that it puts you in decision mode. You're ready to buy and can move on to choosing the right property. If you don't lock, you could put off buying indefinitely, and miss out on the highest inventory of homes we've had in years.

To buy a home, you have three major points to consider -- price, interest rate, and housing availability.

If you can get all three at their best levels, you've likely made the deal of your life.

Published: March 20, 2008

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.