Would it be better to purchase(to rent) a moderate house/condo($300k-400k) in
the New york city / new jersey area in 2005 or wait for a potential
deal on future forclosure?(taking the rise of interest rate and
forclosure into consideration)

Great question! Working at a Real Estate Appraisal Firm in Southern
California, Accutech Evaluations, I have done a lot of research on the
skyrocketing prices around the country. (I actually just read four
articles this morning!) Basically, home prices have jumped an
unprecedented 33% nationally over the past five years, with New York's
property increasing at a rate of 50%. Now, this is just my personal
opinion, but I would tell you to wait tight and save up. Many people
are predicting the bubble to burst in many metropolitan areas on the
coasts by mid-2005. I am one of them, to say the least. Find an
apartment you can live with, save up, and don't worry about the rising
mortgage rates. Many of the loan packages out right now at these
incredible rates are very tempting, but some of them can be classified
as "predatory lending," preying on people who have poor credit or a
very small down payment. (NOTE: There is a big distinction between
reputible businesses that specialize in subprime loans and predatory
lending.)

Those are my thoughts on the matter, and I feel pretty confident in my
adivce. Best of luck to you! -(emartin4444, Accutech Evaluations, LLC)