Everyone loves to find the best deals around. If you need to buy a cheap television and can’t wait till Black Friday, you run to a thrift store. Can that happen in real estate too? Is there a way to find the best deals on homes?
Here are a few tips that can help you find some great deals on homes:
Find Homes That Have Been on Sale for a Long Time Now
If you have been looking for homes that are currently on sale, you may find a lot that may have been on the market for a long time now. You may get lucky if the buying season is almost coming to an end. The seller might be willing to negotiate for a lower price. Be on the watch for such properties and see if there is any drop in their prices. This means the sellers may not have received that many offers and they are ready to negotiate for lower prices.
Look for Homes with ‘As Is’ in their Listed Descriptions
Houses with ‘As Is’ in their descriptions usually come with a fixer-upper. They are usually a steal. However, make sure you get the home inspected to find out if it needs some repairs. You don’t want to spend all the money that you have saved on repairs.
Target Homes that have been Vacant or Inherited
You can find vacant housing lists on certain city websites. However, before buying them, you need to find out the condition of the home, how long it has been vacant, and if it is code-compliant and has a certificate of occupancy issued by the city.
You can find inherited homes by going through local obituaries. You have to then look for property tax records of the deceased. The relatives of the deceased person may be wanting to get rid of the property and shirk their responsibilities. This means you can expect to get the home quickly and at a fair price.
Look for Homes in Farther-Flung Neighborhoods
If the commute is not an issue, you can look for houses in farther-flung neighborhoods where you can shop on a budget. They may be far from urban centers, but you can expect to get some great deals if you are ready to be flexible.
Go Through Sale-by-Owner Listings
When you are buying properties direct from the sellers you can expect some potential bargains since the sellers will already be saving on the commission of the real estate agent. However, without an agent, they may not have a clear idea about the actual worth of their home. If you can do some research on this, you should be able to educate them about the market and work out a fair price for the home.
Look for Off-market Homes
Put in a word in your network that you want to purchase a home. You will be surprised how the ‘Word of Mouth’ strategy can work for you. You can find homes even before they get listed on the websites. Keep a watch on life circumstances – who is getting a divorce and who is likely to move to another state. Making an offer before the seller lists his home in the market, can help you get an excellent deal.
While there are many ways to find good deals on homes to buy, you can also check out short sales. Sellers heading toward foreclosures might be ready to short-sell their homes. Look for ‘pre foreclosures’ in court records to find properties that are on a short sale. Consult a few real estate agents or mortgage specialists through FHA leads, to find such homes.
When buying short-sale properties, you will have to negotiate with the bank as well as with the current owner, which can get tricky. So, get yourself an experienced real estate agent who excels in such unique sales.