Whether you are shopping for a home for yourself, or you are a real estate investor like Than Merrill and are searching for investment properties, finding incredible real estate deals is entirely possible — you just need to know where to look.
Even in a market that favors sellers, there are great deals to be found. It is just a matter of being willing to put in the work to find them.
If you are ready to start finding amazing real estate deals, check out the four simple tips below:
- Be ready to act
When great real estate deals hit the MLS, it is a little bit like throwing chum in the water near a group of hungry sharks. There is a flurry of activity as everyone rushes to make an offer. If you want to get your offer accepted, you need to act quickly enough to beat out all of the other people that are vying for the property.
In order to accomplish this, you need to be prepared. First and foremost, you should already have your financing in place. Get preapproved for a loan so that you can act immediately when a good property is listed.
Next, create a custom search on a real estate listing site that focuses on the types of properties that you are interested in. For instance, if you are looking for a home with a minimum of three bedrooms in a specific neighborhood, include that information in your search.
Most real estate sites will give you an option to create alerts for any new properties that match your search criteria. Sign up for instant alerts for your search. If possible, choose to receive these alerts through email as well as via text message. That way, you will get them immediately wherever you are.
Finally, if you are an investor and you are willing to take a little bit of a risk, you can always put in an offer before viewing the property in person. It goes without saying that there are some downsides to doing this. Keep in mind, however, that you will still have a chance to negotiate on the price of the home after you view it in person. Additionally, you can also back out of the deal if you are willing to lose your earnest money. You need to decide if it is worth risking your earnest money in order to get your offer in first.
- Look at properties that have been on the market for a long time
Sometimes, perfectly good properties languish on the market forever. It isn’t necessarily that there is anything wrong with them. They just aren’t getting a lot of attention from interested buyers. Perhaps they were listed at the same time as a lot of other properties and got overlooked in the rush. Maybe they were listed with too high of an asking price right out of the gate. They may lack curb appeal or have low-quality photos in their listing, keeping people from noticing them.
Oftentimes, you can get fantastic deals on these properties from https://3cre.com. Keeping a home on the market for a long period of time can be expensive. It can also be a major headache. Most people who put their homes on the market do so because they are either moving to a new home or they no longer want to cover the mortgage or maintenance on the property. If they don’t find a buyer right away, it is difficult for them to move on and they have to deal with the ongoing expense of maintaining the house until it sells.
Because of that, many people who have homes that have been on the market for a long time are extremely willing to negotiate. If you make a low offer on one of these homes, there is a high likelihood that it will be accepted. This is a simple way to get a fantastic deal.
- Be willing to overlook cosmetic flaws
Most home buyers get caught up in the idea of finding their dream home, looking for a property that takes their breath away the minute that they stepped through the front door. Because of that, properties that have cosmetic flaws often get overlooked by buyers, making them much more difficult to sell.
If you are willing to look past the surface details, you can often find amazing homes that are listed at incredibly low prices. With just a little bit of work, these diamonds in the rough could really shine. If you really want to get a great deal, limit your search to popular neighborhoods where property values are high. Then, look for ugly houses that have outdated carpeting, old wallpaper, overgrown landscaping, or other cosmetic problems.
As long as these properties have good bones, you can usually make them look a million times nicer with a very small investment. A few simple changes like putting in new flooring, painting the walls, or trimming back trees and shrubs can make a huge difference in the appearance of the property, instantly increasing its value.
- Reach out directly to homeowners
In many cases, the best deals on real estate aren’t listed on the MLS. Instead, they are found by contacting homeowners directly to see if they are willing to sell. Keep in mind, this approach is not always successful. When it does work out, however, you can get some truly amazing deals.
There are a lot of different approaches you can take to contacting homeowners. If you are good at talking to people, you could try going door-to-door in a neighborhood where you want to buy a home, asking people if they are interested in selling. Alternatively, you could try something a little bit more old-fashioned like sending out direct mail flyers to homeowners letting them know that you are interested in buying properties in their area. You never know when you will discover a great lead.
Using these tips, you should be able to find some incredible real estate deals in your local area. As long as you are willing to put in the legwork, you can get a fantastic property at an amazing price.
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