Month: January 2022

Whether you are buying or selling real estate, you need to do the right talking to the right people in order to get the best deal.  Being or using a negotiator is the best way to make sure that you know exactly what is going on and are able to fall into the right piece of property.  Whether you are a negotiator or working with someone who negotiates, you will want to make sure that you walk into a home with your facts straight.  

The first thing to do as a negotiator or to look for in a negotiator is to make sure the facts are there.  You will need to know going rates, real estate investments and the market, the trends that are in place, and what facts will be best for the properties that are being looked at.  Of course, this will mean that you want to spend time to find the right deal and the right piece of property.  Whether you are an individual looking for property, or are working with a negotiator, make sure that your individual needs come first.  

If you are working with or as a negotiator, you want to make sure that they have your best interests in mind.  Oftentimes, negotiators will try to sell someone on a deal just so they can receive commission.  This is not necessarily a good way to negotiate or find a deal.  Everyone should walk away feeling like they won with the investment in the property.  This starts with finding the right information and ends with making and signing the right contract.  

If you are interested in real estate or just want to work with a negotiator, make sure that they fit your description of a good sales person to work with.  This will make a large difference in the property that you invest in as well as a difference in your ability to have your individual needs met.

Property auctions can be a great place to find fantastic real estate bargains. However, working a property auction requires a few extra skills and knowledge. Here is a quick start guide to help you navigate your first property auction.

What is a property auction?

A property auction is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a place where residential and commercial buildings are bought and sold. It’s an auction and it works like any other auction. Buyers bid on a property and the highest bid wins. 

Property auctions are generally divided into residential or commercial. And in order to attend you generally need to be approved. 

Why do you need to be approved before attending an auction?

Imagine someone bidding on a property you’re selling at an auction and when the day is done and the auction is over, the buyer cannot actually afford the property. It would be unfair to all those who bid on the property and certainly a misfortune to the person who is selling the property. Being approved prior to the auction helps to avoid this unnecessary dilemma. 

Why do people buy at an auction?

Price is the main motivator. You hear tales of people walking away from a real estate auction with a million dollar home that they bought for a dollar. That kind of deal doesn’t happen. However, you can save an abundance of money on an auction home.

How do you prepare for an auction?

Most often there is a listing available to auction attendees before the auction. Use this list to research the homes before you attend the auction. Make sure it’s in an area that you want to live or can rent in. Make sure the exterior is up to par and that as far as you can tell the home meets your goals and needs. 

Preparation is important because you can buy an auction home and end up with a ton of unexpected expenses and surprises. Doing your research ahead of time will help mitigate these surprises. 

How do you find out about auctions?

Auctions are listed in the newspaper, generally. It also helps to build a network of fellow property owners, auction attendees, real estate investors, real estate agents, and mortgage brokers. Real estate attorneys are helpful too!

Buying a property at a real estate auction can save you up to 60% of the home’s value. It’s a great place to find true bargains. However, proper preparation can also prevent unexpected surprises. You may want to attend an auction or two first before getting in on the bidding game. It’s sure to be an educational experience.

Property Auctions – Numbers vs. Emotions – Your Guide to Staying in Control

Property auctions are a fantastic way to get a great bargain on a home or a rental property. However, they can also be tremendously overwhelming. There’s a lot of information, a lot of excitement, and a fair amount of pressure to get the winning bid. All of this commotion and chaos can send logic right out the door. 

It’s important to reign in your emotions, as fun as the roller coaster may be, and make buying and bidding decisions based on the numbers and logic. Here’s how to keep things in check at your next property auction.

• Before you ever consider attending a property auction, know your goals and what you’re looking for. Are you looking for a property to rent? A property to fix up and resell? Are you looking for a property to live in? How long will you own the property?  And perhaps most importantly, how much do you have to spend? If you’re looking to buy a rental property, how much do you want to make on the investment?

• Know how much you can spend, write it down on a piece of paper and take the number with you. You may want to write down two or three numbers. How much you’d ideally want to spend and how much you can spend and still meet your financial and investment goals. Knowing these numbers will help you bid accordingly. Take the paper with you and pull it out before you’re getting ready to bid as a reminder.

• Research the properties before you attend an auction. Make a note of the properties that fit your goals. Research them to find out how they fit into your financial and investment goals. Come up with a top limit of what you’d be willing to spend on each property and commit to sticking to your budget. Make sure you research the property values around the homes, the neighborhood features, the schools, the taxes and also the condition of the home.

• Make sure all your funding arrangements are made before you attend the auction. This will help you bid with confidence.

Be prepared to walk away. No deal is better than a bad deal or an investment you really cannot afford or doesn’t meet your needs. An auction is an exciting process, however, it’s important to look at it like a tool not a competition. If you view it as a tool to get what you want, then you’ll walk into the auction confident and prepared.

There are many that are tricked by the ideas that are associated with real estate.  It may be believed that it is hard to find a home unless you have a large amount of income or are able to pay thousands of dollars up front.  This particular myth is not necessarily true, and in fact, if you search correctly, will find that it is exactly opposite.  

If you want to invest in real estate or move into a home, you can find a home for almost as much as you are paying rent for.  It is simply finding the right resources and knowing how they will fit together.  One of the places to look is at home auctions or areas where there are foreclosures.  Most of these homes will be ones that recent owners were not able to pay on and were forced out of the home.  Because there is no one in the home, the bank is paying on the house.  Most likely, they won’t want to keep the home and will be willing to lower prices and bargain for you to get a good deal and start paying them.  

If you aren’t sure where to find the bargains that are available, you can browse through locations and investigate on your own.  There are several areas that are built around finding cheap properties.  Many times, the resources on the Internet or in real estate magazines are designed to show you the market and will include the lowest prices.  By searching in local resources, you will have the ability to compare what is available and can see which homes are lower than others because of things such as foreclosures.  

There are endless resources that are available and that real estate investors are supplying in order to sell homes.  If you are looking for a home, you don’t even have to get in your car.  You can instead simply search for what is available and find how your individual tastes will fit with your bank account.

Before you make a bid on a home you’ve found, you should know some of the deal breakers you should double-check before submitting your offer. Inspecting the home is an absolute necessity and keep in mind that looks can be deceiving.

There can be little flaws such as paint you don’t like or old appliances, but there are big ones that make you think twice before overlooking. Don’t let your enthusiasm and blind love for the home blind you to the flaws that may become money pits.

One deal breaker you should consider is faulty plumbing. Without good plumbing bones there may be mildew, water stains and sagging floors. Worse problems might include sewer lines. Many parts of the country haven’t updated them in over 100 years.

Older septic tanks may also be a deal breaker. Check out the age of the septic tank and have an inspector evaluate it. Remember that repairs to sewer lines or septic tanks might cost you from &25,000 to $50,000.

The roof of your new home must also be inspected for missing tiles and shingles that are in disrepair. Some roofs may last over 30 years, but if the installation or quality is poor you could be looking at replacing it very soon.

An out-of-date or sloppily installed electrical system can be a fire hazard and you don’t want to face the task of replacing it. Tube and knob and aluminum wiring are sometimes found in older homes and can haunt you if you overlook it.

A low appraisal may alert you that you’re paying too much for the home. It could also indicate that the home sales are booming in that area and the comparable prices for homes aren’t yet equal to what the home is worth.

Beware if your dream home is in a flood zone. Even if you’re far away from the beach, lake or river, flooding can happen. If you buy in a high-risk flood zone, your insurance costs may be prohibitive and you may have a difficult time selling the home in the future.

Know the history of your dream home before you buy. For example, find out if repairs or renovations were performed by a licensed contractor and the reason for the repairs. If the home or surroundings have been sites of crimes you’re less likely to get a fair price for the home when you’re ready to sell.

Your home may be in the exact location you want with the exact view you love, but you’ve determined that it needs a third bedroom or renovations to make the basement a game room.

First, you need to check with the town about any restrictions that could affect the upgrades you want to make. You may also want to check with an architect to make sure the home structure is amenable to the renovations you want to make.

Finally, be sure you assess the neighborhood where your home is located. It could be a real deal breaker if the area is past its prime and has homes which are declining in value – or the neighborhood has become noisy and trashy.

You have to decide what the real deal breakers are for the home you’re buying, but be sure to think about the possible ramifications of purchasing a home that has many of the problems listed.