Wow! What a roller coaster ride the last five years have been for those who have invested in Real Estate and the stock market. Who could have predicted the twists and turns of the market place? There are many out there who would like to take credit for peering into the future but close examination would prove even the best get fooled in changing markets.

So what time is it now with respect to Real Estate? Should you buy, sell or rent and wait for market indicators to change? Here are five tips for gaging where you are with respect to Real Estate.

1. HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN TO LIVE IN YOUR HOME? Whither you are considering buying, selling or renting it is important to have a firm plan as to how long you intend live where you currently reside. Several years ago when my wife and I started investing in Real Estate we decided to divide our future into 5 year increments of time. We set goals and put time lines on them that could be accomplished in a five year cycle. At the three year mark we started planning for the next five years. We discovered that by planning out our lives we were less open to being lured into bad decisions.

2. HOW IS YOUR CREDIT? This is a question that raises strong emotions in most of us. Even if we believe our credit to be very good we may worry how good it really is when we go to make a major purchase like a home. The first and most important step is to find out if you don't know for sure. Get your credit scores. Know where you stand. Once you know where you stand you can go to work on improving your score. There are many good credit counselors that can help you out. Don't overlook your local church as a resource in helping you get a handle on how to deal with financial difficulty. Many Churches work with CROWN MINISTRIES  a Biblical based financial counseling program that links you with families that are working together through classes to learn how to handle money and retire debt. A few years ago the Wall Street journal listed "Your Money Counts" one of the resource manuals for Crown as in the top five books to read for financial counsel.

3. HOW STABLE IS YOUR ENVIRONMENT? We can never know for sure that we will have job security but most of the time we can see changes on the horizon. A company downsizing, a buyout, cutbacks, can be indicators that things may not be as stable as we would like. Our marriage can face challenges at times and that too should be taken into account. Market swings can also give us clues as to what time it is for us. For certain there are buying and selling cycles in the market place. Many would say we are in a clear buyers market currently. Depending on where you live you may or may not agree with that but it is important that we learn to gage the temperature in our environment.