Beyond Monopoly Money: Tips For Buying Real Estate

Everyone dreams of owning a wonderful house and being able to call it their own. However, buying a piece of real estate can be a stressful and long process, especially if you are unsure of how to go about it. This article will explain some tips and tricks to purchasing real estate and help put your wary buyer’s mind at ease!

Commercial Real Estate

One important tip to remember when investing in commercial real estate is to try to avoid the most common first purchase – apartments. This is important because of over saturation as well as the possibility for a much higher profit elsewhere. Try to pick a specialty property that is unique to you.

For Sale By Owner

If you’re an experienced investor, consider “for sale by owner” properties. For sale by owner properties often present an excellent investment opportunity for investors who are familiar with the purchase process, and who would prefer to save on agent commissions. There are many different ways to structure a FSBO deal; it’s a matter of finding the one that works best for you.

Foreclosed Homes

For both sellers and buyers make sure that you always gather data about things. Look at the newspaper in that area for things like foreclosed homes, current and historic median selling prices and also how long homes are staying on the market. Also look up things like unemployment rate and crime rates for the area.

Property

No one buys real estate without visiting the property first. One thing some buyers overlook, though, is to visit unannounced, on their own. A scheduled visit is planned and choreographed for maximum positive effect; the neighbors may even be helping out. Savvy buyers know to take a look at the house and the neighborhood on their own time to get a more realistic picture of things.

Property For Sale

Find a great neighborhood and then investigate all potential properties. If you find an up and coming neighborhood where property values are on the rise, investigate every property for sale and consider purchasing the lowest priced one. The advantage is this: If you find that the two lowest priced properties in a neighborhood are priced at $150,000 and $170,000 ” buy the $150,000 property and you can place it immediately on the market for $165,000. This gives you an excellent short term investment that will require little to no work on your end, other than arranging the financing and finding a selling agent.

Real Estate Listings

Even though it is very easy to search for real estate listings on the internet, it is still in your best interest to hire an agent to work with you. The agent will be able to answer many questions that you may have, handle the paperwork and analyze data that you would have no idea needed to by analyzed.

Now that you have been introduced to some simple tips to help your house hunting go smoother, you will be able to get out there and start looking at properties. Remember, the housing market can be a volatile world, so the more you ask questions and do research before making decisions, the better off you will be in the long run!