Followers of the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui believe that colours play an important part in the harmony of our lives. Selecting the right colour could affect your health, career, finances and even your romance.

Chinese Feng Shui has five elements: earth, wood, metal, fire and water. Each property enhances certain areas of a person's life. Feng Shui colours are separated into categories that coincide with these elements. By using Feng Shui colours that match particular elements, a person can attract specific attributes into a home or office.

The Feng Shui earth element symbolizes relationships and harmony. Colours associated with the earth are pale yellow and tan. Yellow gives patience and encourages calm thinking. It also nurtures the ability to

Buying a home is not an impulse buy. In most cases you will have a few months notice before you actually go through with the sale. Planning ahead is crucial particularly if you don't have extensive financial resources. Since mortgage lenders will be sizing up your finances carefully, don't give them any reason to reject your application.

You never know what effect today’s actions will have on your mortgage application in three or even six months. Even something as simple as transferring money from your savings to your chequing account can negatively impact the mortgage process. So here are some suggestions of things you should avoid before buying a home:

1. Do not make any major purchases
Don't invest in any major purchases. Cars, weddings,

Experts always say that real estate is a great investment because the value of homes is always going up. To some extent, there's truth in that. But it's also a fact that the real estate market fluctuates. Many people mistakenly rely on national trends when evaluating the real estate market, however, this could at times be misleading. The key is to focus on and understand your local market.

Focusing on your local real estate market is the key to evaluating real estate deals. This however could be difficult to evaluate since there is often less information on particular areas versus the national situation. To understand your real estate market, here are a few factors to focus on.

Understand the market trend. Sometimes it's a buyer's market and