Real Estate Information

18 Easy Steps to Buy a Bargain House


What is a "distressed" property? What is "bargain" real estate?

A distressed property is one with a distressed seller. Job loss or transfer, divorce, death, pending foreclosure, and lack of money cause sellers to sell fast for less. Discovering the seller's problem and finding a solution is the key to buying a bargain property. A distressed property may also be a "doghouse," a dump, or a fixer. Owners of "doghouses" are not always distressed sellers.

18 Easy Steps to Buy a Bargain House

1. Get good advice from successful investors. Ask friends and real estate agents for referrals to investors.

2. Create your personal "Investment Journal," like Doghouse to Dollars Workbook: Turn Yucks into Bucks Investor's Guide.

3. Define investment goals: Do you want to buy a home to live in, to fix and sell, or to hold for your future?

4. Get credit reports & scores. Create a file for each credit reporting agency. Take care of any credit issues.

5. Read Real Estate investing books and articles. Attend workshops and seminars. Avoid out of date infomercials on TV.

6. Get good advice from lenders. Choose a lender with great service, good closing record, and fair costs. Arrange financing.

7. Define your target locations: Is your desired property near home or job, vacation or second home?

8. Learn your target market. Study real estate newspaper sections. Pick up homes for sale flyers. Watch sales and note prices, amenities, and conditions. Follow HUD sales in your area.

9. Interview Real Estate agents and learn from them. Do not sign any agreements with agents limiting your search for bargain property. (These contracts make you pay the agent a commission even if you purchase by owner.)

10. Use agents who know local market customs and guarantee to make many offers for you.

11. Find a good escrow officer for buying "for sale by owners."

12. Study home remodeling, design magazines and books. Learn the costs of materials, supplies, and trades. Visit home improvement warehouses. Note costs of building materials.

13. Be ready to know a bargain property when you see it.

14. Make many offers. Bid on HUD repos.

15. Buy only bargain property. Get great terms or concessions from seller.

16. Plan house transformation during escrow. This speeds your work time -- saving you money in holding expenses.

17. Monitor real estate escrow closing. Do not jeopardize your financing by charging up credit cards or making unnecessary purchases.

18. Celebrate buying your "doghouse" with an open house!

(c) Copyright 2004, Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved.

Professor Jeanette Fisher, author of Doghouse to Dollhouse for Dollars, Joy to the Home, and other books teaches Real Estate Investing and Design Psychology. For more articles, tips, reports, newsletters, and sales flyer template, see http://www.doghousetodollhousefordollars.com/pages/5/index.htm


MORE RESOURCES:

Bushnell looks at life and real estate in the Village
eTaiwan News, Taiwan - 11 hours ago
The "Sex and the City" author turns her trenchant wit and eye for social folly to real estate with "One Fifth Avenue", which focuses on characters ...


TopNews

Hypo Real Estate's Viermetz Steps Down After Bailout (Update1)
Bloomberg - Oct 10, 2008
By Nandini Sukumar and Oliver Suess Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Kurt Viermetz quit as supervisory board chairman of Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, five days after ...
Hypo Real Estate chairman resigns after bail-out Monsters and Critics.com
Chairman steps down at Hypo Financial Times
UPDATE 1-Hypo Real Estate gets access to credit line Reuters
Xinhua - Bloomberg
all 114 news articles


Voice of America

Hypo Real Estate Denies Report It Withheld Data on Liquidity
Bloomberg - Oct 9, 2008
By Oliver Suess and Karin Matussek Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, the commercial property lender that needed a revised 50 billion-euro ...
Video: Wells Fargo's bid for Wachovia ReutersVideo
German Govt rescues Hypo Real Estate in a Euro 50 bn package Hindu
Hypo Real Estate Holding, Premiere, TUI: German Equity Preview Bloomberg
Bloomberg - Bloomberg
all 1,098 news articles


Private equity in real estate
Economic Times, India - 6 hours ago
There have been times when business has been slow in other industries but not in real estate. However, as has been evident during the last two years, ...


Real estate bulletin board
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 1 hour ago
Sponsored by Whitney Davis of Zephyr Real Estate and Tina Leonardi of Guarantee Mortgage, 6-7:30 pm, Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness Ave., Suite P, San Francisco, ...


Making Sense Of Today’s Real Estate Market
Scotts Valley/San Lorenzo Valley Press-Banner, CA - 6 hours ago
When: 6:30 to 7:30 pm Where: Scotts Valley Library, 230-D Mt. Hermon Road , in Scotts Valley Details: Answers questions about when to sell, future trends, ...


Weak real estate continues to draw down Bank of Florida earnings
Bizjournals.com, NC - Oct 10, 2008
The bank said in a release announcing preliminary third quarter results that continued weakness in real estate values caused it to set aside more money for ...
Bank of Florida Corp. Provides Preliminary Third Quarter 2008 Results Business Wire (press release)
LAFAYETTE, CA, Oct 10, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- California ... MarketWatch
Amidst the Current Economic Turmoil, Bank of McKenney Posts Core ... MarketWatch
all 61 news articles


Leawood real estate agent pleads guilty in mortgage fraud scheme
San Antonio Business Journal, TX - 15 hours ago
A Leawood real estate agent pleaded guilty to several charges related to a mortgage fraud scheme that federal prosecutors say bilked lenders for more than ...


REAL ESTATE DEALS
Orange County Business Journal, CA - 19 hours ago
Scott Smith of Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. represented the seller. Young Kim of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. represented the ...
Money Panel: Lease option all about timing The Salinas Californian
all 2 news articles


Kansas Real Estate Agent Pleads Guilty to $12 Million Phony Home ...
Kansas City infoZine, MO - 18 hours ago
In January 2008 he falsely stated he had power of attorney to obtain a loan in his son's name for $575000 for the purchase of real estate properties in ...

Real-Estate - Google News

home | site map
© 2006