According to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of newly constructed homes sold each month are more than 670,000.
Another study by the National Association of Realtors found that 5.34 million existing homes got sold last year alone.
Clearly, the real estate sector is booming. However, whether you are looking for your first home or just want to lease a property, finding excellent house deals isn’t easy. This is why you need an insightful plan before heading out to look for deals. Checking homes for sale in northwest indiana is a great place to start looking for your dream house.
Read on for tips on how to land affordable, high-quality homes every time.
1. Sort by Prize
While it sounds obvious, many people don’t put this into practice.
Most online real estate platforms list their houses starting with the “most expensive”. Thus, always remember to make use of the filter tab to view cheap houses for sale first.
Alternatively, you can use a home price checker to quickly find affordable homes on sale in your preferred geographical area.
2. Assess Many Houses
Finding a budget house is largely a numbers game.
Look at it as a funnel. At the top, many leads come in, while at the bottom, few come out. To end up with many excellent deals, you will have to increase the quality and number of leads you get at the top of your funnel.
For example, a typical house searching funnel will look like this:
- Number of leads from various sources: 200
- Locations where you would buy: 100
- Houses showing promise after a quick analysis: 20
- Houses still showing promise after a deeper analysis: 8
- Deals you make an offer on: 5
- Accepted offers: 1
3. Be Quick
Most realtors choose the highest bids for their low-priced properties, right?
Wrong.
Often, it’s the earliest offer that gets accepted. This is because most owners want to get rid of these properties as soon as possible. This is why they’re cheap in the first place.
For that reason, subscribe to email alerts from listing websites to keep you posted on the latest deals and act on them promptly.
You may also want to get a pre-approval from your bank to enable you to make same-day offers on prospective properties.
4. Consider Buying Bank Fore-Closed Properties
When a mortgagor defaults on payments for a mortgage, the bank evicts the occupants and repossess the property.
After everything gets cleared, the bank lists the home for sale with a local real estate agent. The prices of these houses are usually lower because the bank doesn’t aim at making profits from the sales.
Furthermore, foreclosure procedures can take many years, forcing banks to offer handsome discounts for the properties. This is probably due to the renovations and repairs needed after staying unused for a long time. Also the property taxes and insurance costs add up each month or quarter.
5. Approach Absentee Owners Privately
In any hot real estate market, there are many people searching for worthwhile properties at any given time. This means that when a single home goes on sale, it receives countless offers in just a few days.
To bypass all the traffic, clever real estate investors are approaching owners even before they list properties.
And who do you suppose would consider selling their home early and privately? You guessed it. Absentee owners.
These are the people who own houses, but don’t use them. You can even widen the net to include owners who have inherited homes, but are unsure if they want to occupy to them.
Here are a few ways to find absentee owners:
- Drive around, searching for properties that look vacant. Then use an online public record to track down the owners.
- Call mom-and-pop landlords listing rental properties on sites like Craigslist and make them an offer to buy.
6. Look Outside the Cities
Generally, the further you move away from major metropolitan areas, the cheaper the homes.
So, instead of focusing on the busy cities, head to a close suburban area. However, you’ll need to consider things like daily commuting and nearby social amenities.
7. Negotiate Tactfully
In most real estate sales, the asking price is never the selling price.
So don’t hesitate to negotiate for the best possible deal. And while at it, avoid disclosing your budget and emotional attachment to the house. It’s vital to remain calm, cool, and collected during any negotiation.
You also research on the property before making an offer. This helps you to understand the seller psyche, giving you an edge as you prepare for the negotiations.
Warning Signs That it’s a Bad House Deal
Be on the lookout for these red signs when shopping for house deals:
The Agent or Seller is Sketchy
Any off-putting actions by agents or sellers should be considered as red flags. It can be anything, from an owner pressuring you to buy the home to a seller avoiding paperwork or has an incentive to waive home inspections.
The House is Too Cheap
Not all cheap houses are standard homes.
Beware of deals that are too good to be true. In most cases, you are likely to find major underlying problems such as damaged foundations or roofs.
Risky Neighborhood
Some sellers list a house cheaper to compensate for problems that come with living in the area. Maybe the place is a high-risk flood zone or has high crime rates.
One sign of such areas is the presence of many empty stalls and listed houses.
Too Many Cosmetic Fixes
It’s common for owners to procure quick fixes to make homes appear better than they seem.
In the long run, these shortcuts end up causing serious losses for the buyer. For example, a seller can use paint to cover stains caused by water leaks within the walls. When the leak goes unnoticed, it can cause serious structural damages to the house.
Finding Excellent House Deals Made Easy
Real estate investments come with some of the heaviest financial burdens. Nonetheless, you don’t always have to spend a lot to land worthwhile homes. Using the tips above, you’ll certainly find the best house deals in your area.
Stay tuned for more insightful real estate investing and property management articles published daily on this business blog.
