| |
| |
|
|
Real Estate |
|
18 Easy Steps to Buy a Bargain House
What is a "distressed" property? What is "bargain" real estate? A distressed property is one with a distressed seller. Job loss or transfer, divorce, death, pending foreclosure, and lack of money cause sellers to sell fast for less. Discovering the seller's problem and finding a solution is the key to buying a bargain property. A distressed property may also be a "doghouse," a dump, or a fixer. Owners of "doghouses" are not always distressed sellers. 18 Easy Steps to Buy a Bargain House 1. Get good advice from successful investors. Ask friends and real estate agents for referrals to investors. 2. Create your personal "Investment Journal," like Doghouse to Dollars Workbook: Turn Yucks into Bucks Investor's Guide. 3. Define investment goals: Do you want to buy a home to live in, to fix and sell, or to hold for your future? 4. Get credit reports & scores. Create a file for each credit reporting agency. Take care of any credit issues. 5. Read Real Estate investing books and articles. Attend workshops and seminars. Avoid out of date infomercials on TV. 6. Get good advice from lenders. Choose a lender with great service, good closing record, and fair costs. Arrange financing. 7. Define your target locations: Is your desired property near home or job, vacation or second home? 8. Learn your target market. Study real estate newspaper sections. Pick up homes for sale flyers. Watch sales and note prices, amenities, and conditions. Follow HUD sales in your area. 9. Interview Real Estate agents and learn from them. Do not sign any agreements with agents limiting your search for bargain property. (These contracts make you pay the agent a commission even if you purchase by owner.) 10. Use agents who know local market customs and guarantee to make many offers for you. 11. Find a good escrow officer for buying "for sale by owners." 12. Study home remodeling, design magazines and books. Learn the costs of materials, supplies, and trades. Visit home improvement warehouses. Note costs of building materials. 13. Be ready to know a bargain property when you see it. 14. Make many offers. Bid on HUD repos. 15. Buy only bargain property. Get great terms or concessions from seller. 16. Plan house transformation during escrow. This speeds your work time -- saving you money in holding expenses. 17. Monitor real estate escrow closing. Do not jeopardize your financing by charging up credit cards or making unnecessary purchases. 18. Celebrate buying your "doghouse" with an open house! (c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm
MORE RESOURCES:
Real-Estate - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Use Design Psychology to Stage Your Home for a Top-Dollar Sale A new business venture to help home sellers, home staging, assists property owners in preparing their home for the best possible sale. Home stagers visit your home and either tell you how to redesign it or actually do the work for you. How To Spot A Good Buy Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, particularly when it comes to buying a home. Features that attract one home-buyer may repel another. Canal Front Homes in Venice A bit about VeniceVenice, Florida was named by an early explorer who thought the beautiful, clean canals that snake through the coastal community starkly resembled the canals of the historic city of Venice, Italy. In the 2000 census, Venice, Florida had a population of 17,764 people and that number has continued to increase over the last five years. Real Estate Appraisal - Do It Yourself For single family homes, there are two basic methods used in real estate appraisal. They are replacement cost analysis, and using comparable sales. Real Estate Wealth Protection Through Short Sales Is a sharp correction in store for the real estate market?Fannie Mae, the largest buyer of mortgages in the US, is worried. They recently warned that the probability of a housing bust has risen sharply in certain parts of the country. A Beginners Guide to Flipping Houses If you're dreaming of making money in real estate, it's time to stop dreaming and get to work, because making money in real estate isn't just a vague pipedream. It can be done, even by a young and inexperienced person, when you learn how to "flip" houses. New Homes in Ridgefield Location:Frequent travelers will absolutely delight in this town! As part of the southwest section of Connecticut, Ridgefield is a convenient town to live in since it is only miles away from both the New Jersey Tri-state area and New York City. It is also close to its neighbor, Danbury, and has a steady population that continues to grow. Do You Know What Design/Construct (or Design/Build ) Means? I Think You Should! These real questions on 'How To' build are answered by a US Master Builder and myself from the development viewpoint, after I received them from readers of my e-book, "Residential Development Made Easy."Question 1. As a Realtor, How Do I Attract Listings? Have you ever noticed that despite the massive number of Realtors in your area, only a hand full are making a fortune selling real estate? Regardless of who these realtors work for; GMAC, Century 21, REMax, they are extremely successful where others in their office are barely scraping by. What is the secret to their success? First and foremost, it is their approach to marketing themselves and their customers. The Secret to Maximum Real Estate Profits: Lighting Lighting is the most important detail of interior Design Psychology for selling houses. Lighting influences a prospective buyer's feelings within a space more than any other interior design element. Are Signs Important? Signage, though quite fundamental in nature, plays an important role in the home selling process. The Yard Sign should be two-sided, easy to read, and look great (defaced or worn signs can negatively impact curb appeal). Property Investing Secrets 1 When property investing, pay the seller their asking price but negotiate the terms under which you can buy property. You'd be absolutely surprised when property investing at how many sellers will help fund you into their property. How Much Should I Pay For This House? We probably answer this question for someone a couple times every week. The problem is that they don't have a good formula for determining the most they can pay and still make a profit - so they're scared to make any offer. Sellers, Are You Having A Hard Time Selling Your Home? Sue and Chuck DeFiore have the perfect solution for you - Lease Purchasing your home!What is Lease Purchasing?A Lease Purchase is a process that combines a basic rental lease with an agreement to purchase, or with an option to purchase the property. The Buyer (or Lease-Purchaser) pays to the seller a monthly payment that usually approximates a rental amount or a typical mortgage payment on the home. Advantages and Disadvantages to Selling a House on Your Own As with any business transaction, there are pros and cons to selling your own home. Many people are intimidated by the whole process, but if you know what you are up against, and if you are aware of what needs to be done, you will be more effective at selling on your own, or you will be better at making sure your agent does what you prefer. Notify Them When Youre Moving One of your first steps, when you're getting ready to move, is to pick up a stack of change-of-address cards from the post office. Yes, old-fashioned go-by-snail post cards! You'll want to notify everyone in your address book and also. Dealing With Dual Real Estate Agents Historically, real estate agents have represented the seller of a property. The seller, after all, is usually the one who pays their commission, and agents therefore have a fiduciary relationship with the seller. Purchasing Florida Investment Property And Various Considerations Purchasing Florida Investment PropertyConsidering researching the purchase of Florida Investment Property or properties for sale in central Florida? Do you find yourself wishing you didn't have that lawn to mow and the constant upkeep on a home? Purchasing Florida Investment Property can relieve you of all those household chores but purchasing a Florida Investment Property requires you do some homework. You need to know what you are looking for in a Florida Investment Property. Selling Your Home - Alone or with a Broker? How do you decide whether to sell your home (or land, farm, ranch, etc.) on your own or use a real estate broker? There are pluses and minuses to each approach. How to Sell Your House by Lease Options Many people buy a house then have to move within a few years, due to divorce, relocation or financial difficulties. Without any equity though, it can be nearly impossible to find buyers and you still have realtor fees to contend with.
|
||||||||||||||