Unconventional Tips To Get Your Dream Home – Or Investment Home – A Lot Cheaper
In today’s real estate market, sellers can’t afford to be choosers. If you’re a prospective first time home buyer or looking to grab some investment properties at bargain basement prices, there are a few tips to knock thousands off the price you pay.
1.Grab A Source
You’ll first need a way to find all the homes for sale in your area. Check your local paper, or a homes for sale pamphlet, or for the most eager of sellers eBay and Craiglist.org are fine places to start.
2.Get a Fax Machine
Make a one page document that you can send out to real estate agents and agencies. State what kind of square footage you want, location, how many bedrooms and other requirements for your home. Leave a phone number, email or other method of contact so that real estate agents can reach you. You’ll get one heck of a response, there’s a ton of homes on the market!
Now to the nitty gritty. You’ve got to get down to business. You want the home cheap and you’re not going to settle for market price, no matter how many times the price has been “reduced!”
3.Skip The Realtor
This is an important step. After you have information regarding the home you want start by checking to see who currently owns the home. You can do a reverse phone lookup, or another way is to go to the county assessors website to search by address. Tax information regarding the home is public information, so not only will you be able to find how much the home was previously sold for, the owner of the home and the floorplan, you’ll also be able to see how your taxes may run. There’s a lot of information that the assessor can provide.
4.Call The Owner
Real estate agents are sales people, and they don’t work for you. 
You’ll want to contact the owner of the home to get important details. Try to schedule an appointment with the owner to see the home. If they throw out a time, decline and say you have another home to see. This is important, it shows that they’ve got competition and you’re not sold yet. This also gives you some leeway in the price.
5.Looking At The Home
The worst thing you can do when you look at a home is be excited. Don’t look like a first time buyer, make it look like you’re in this for a deal. Don’t tell them, but show them you mean business. Critique everything, ask about utilities, how much the average month runs and ask about other appliances and updates. You want to know EVERYTHING!
6. Bidding
With so many homes for sale right now there are plenty of options. You’ll likely find ten homes that fit something you would like to own, but you’ll only buy one of them. This gives you plenty of room with bidding. Start low, and cite parts of the home you’re not really digging. Does the home need a new roof? Too much traffic? Tell the owner what you don’t like, not what you do. If you have a family tell them you need a fenced in backyard, so that works into the price you’re willing to pay. Be CREATIVE!
7.Have Fun
Buying a home is a lot of fun, but its also a lot of work. Try to have fun while you’re doing it and look for deals. If you can, take the time to make a well thought out choice, you’ll be happier 5 years from now when you’re living in the same home.
Another article, for renters, will be available tomorrow.
