Advice to first-time home buyers: Look before you leap

The deals are enticing for first-time home buyers and glimpses of recovery add a dose of urgency, but now may not be the right time for newbies to get into the market, according to attorney and real estate broker Dale Robyn Siegel.

Siegel, whose new book, The New Rules for Mortgages, expands on this premise, warned that the burst real estate bubble has left more than wet suds in its wake. Home buyers with limited credit will find their interest and down payments higher and their access to second loans to help with the down payment virtually nil.

To complicate matters, changes are being contemplated in FHA assistance, she said, including a possible increase in required down payment to 5% and a decrease in the allowed seller concession to the buyer from 6% to 3%.