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Al Roker: ...letter and with Money magazine, Jean, good to see you.

Jean Chatzky: Nice to see you.

Al Roker: Now home buying rates are going through the roof, people are buying homes, men and women.

Jean Chatzky: Right, new home sales came out again yesterday and they are again skyrocketing up about 15 percent from last year.

Al Roker: And you've got a series of questions that women can ask and to try to determine whether they should be buying a home. First one being:"Is now the right time to buy?" Everybody's been talking about "Oh, the bubble, the bubble, the bubble..." Is now the right time to buy?

Jean Chatzky: There's no question that there are regional bubbles, if you live in a place where home prices have gone up 30 percent in the last couple of years, you probably want to make sure that you are at least gonna live in this home for a long enough period of time so that you don't have to worry if prices come down a little bit that you don't have to sell it in a hurry.

Al Roker: The next one is kind of interesting. "Are you better off renting?" And I always thought, you are always better off buying, but not true?

Jean Chatzky: Not necessarily, you have to remember there is a cost to the transaction there you gotta pay the broker 1. There's a cost moving, so if you are not gonna be in this home at least 3 to 5 years, you may wanna look at renting at this period of time because it won't give you. If you are in a place like the northeast and if you are in Boston, Minneapolis where the prices have skyrocketed, you may not have that cushion that you need in terms of time to get yourself out.

Al Roker: How much can you afford?

Jean Chatzky: It's not just a question of the mortgage, the interest, the taxes and the insurance. That would be your big nut, but you've gotta remember that you are likely to need a percentage of the value of the home for maintenance each year. You've gotta pay as Sarah was saying, if the water heater goes, and you need to fix it in a hurry. You'd best bet, if you've got a girlfriend who bought her own house in the last year, ask you (to) open up her checkbook, show you what she is paying for all of the cost of actually living there, that'll give you a really good idea.

Al Roker: It's natural that you want to find out what is your FICO score good enough. What's a FICO score?

Jean Chatzky: Your FICO score is your credit score, and basically it's an indication of how much of a risk you will be to the bank. If you've got a great FICO score, you're gonna be able to log in a mortgage under 6 percent over 30 years. If it's not so good, it's gonna cost you 4 percent more, and that's significant money.

Al Roker: And then there are a lot of mortgages out there, different kinds of mortgages, you have to ask which one is best for you.

Jean Chatzky: Right, you want a mortgage for your paying down some equity 2. I am very worried at this point about this interest-only loans where people can pay and pay for years and not end up actually (owing any), owning any more of this house, so get yourself a planned 30-year mortgage or 15-year mortgage, or one high pre-mortgage, like the one Sarah took out.

Al Roker: All right. Jean Chatzky, thanks a lot.

Jean Chatzky: Anytime.