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4 Essential Real Estate Negotiation Tips For Home Buyers

January 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment

1. Determine The Seller’s Motivation Level

Is the seller really motivated to sell the property? In real estate investing, dealing with someone who does not really want to sell their property is a waste of time – you should forget about them and move on, no matter how promising the deal might look like.

2. Inspect a property before making your first offer

It sounds like common sense, but never, ever make an offer before a close inspection of a property. This will put you on the back foot throughout whole negotiation process! Also, don’t let the seller force you into making your offer RIGHT AFTER the inspection, it’s best to wait 24 hours to prepare your final offer.

3. Have more than one offer in mind

Try not to enter negotiations with only a one offer. It’s best to make sure that you come to the table with at least 3 offers.

4. Make the best offer to the seller while leaving

If you and the seller can’t reach an agreement, try this simple trick: make your final offer standing at the door. First off, this way you give a clear sign that the seller can’t hope for a better deal. Then, this puts the seller on notice that you are about to walk away from the deal – he or she may not like your offer, but there is no guarantee that the next real estate investor will give the seller better terms. This can often make the seller more receptive and accept your proposition.

Filed Under: Buying a House Tagged With: , , ,

4 Tips for First Time Home Buyers

January 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Buying your first home can be an exciting time. At the same time, if you’re not aware and prepared, buying your dream home could turn into a nightmare. Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind when purchasing your first home.

1. Make sure you can afford what your purchase. At first glance, this sounds like common sense, but many first time buyers over extend themselves and purchase more than they can afford.

2. Grab a current copy of your credit report and make sure everything looks good. Make sure you are aware of your credit history so there are no unpleasant surprises when it comes to getting a home loan.

3. Get in touch with a good great Realtor. You want to work with a seasoned Realtor that has plenty of experience. You want somebody that will listen to your needs and will work hard to exceed your expectations. If you feel that your Realtor isn’t doing what he/she can to find the right home for you then fire them.

4. Take your time when making a decision. Your first home is the biggest single purchase of your life, never feel pressured into making a commitment. Make sure you tour several homes and take a day or two to make your decision.

Filed Under: Buying a House, Real Estate Basics Tagged With: , , , ,

Investing in Lease to Own Real Estate

January 17, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Lets face it, a lot of people are plagued with credit problems. This can make it difficult to purchase a home.

The good news is that there are some investors that are willing to take the risk on those who have had credit problems by offering lease to own real estate to individuals with less than spectacular credit.

It’s a risky business, but for investors who are interested in ‘buy and hold’ investing this is one way of making that system work in their favor. Many times the ‘buyers’ will find another property after a couple of years and will have essentially rented the property for a specified amount of time. At other times they will seek alternative financing once they have been able to straighten out their credit situations. Either way there are many occasions when the property is returned to the investor and has turned a relatively decent profit while holding those who took some degree of ‘pride of ownership’ in the property during that time rather than ordinary renters who often have little or no regard for the condition of the landlord’s property.

There is more than one way that a lease to own deal can work. The most common however, is that there is a specified amount of time typically 2-5 years in which those that are leasing the property can live in the property with a portion of the monthly lease being applied towards a down payment for the property once they are able to get traditional financing. If a twenty percent down payment is achieved during that time the odds of them being approved for a loan are greatly improved. If they (being the lessees) combine this opportunity with serious efforts to improve their credit scores then there should be no problem achieving this.

As a real estate investor this situation is so much more attractive than renters for many reasons. First of all, the maintenance in these cases becomes the problem of the lessees rather than your problem, you have ‘renters’ that are hoping to have ownership of the property in time, and you can charge a little more each month for rent in order to cover the money being applied to the down payment on the property.

Filed Under: Real Estate Investing, Selling A House Tagged With: , , , ,