How To Find Cheap Real Estate

How you find cheap real estate for yourself or as an investment? The good news is that it's certainly become easier recently (this is being written in early 2009). If you are searching for a home, rental house, land or other property, at least a couple of the suggestions below can help you spend less.

1. Contact Bankers

Banks are trying to unload the homes and other real estate they have foreclosed on recently. Give them a call. Most sell through a local real estate office, but you may learn of properties that are not yet for sale by contacting them directly, so you can be ready, or even make an offer before they list the property.

2. Subscribe To Real Estate Alerts

Websites like Realtor .com can send you the latest listings if you give them your preferences. It's possible to find out about many properties the day they are listed in this way - before most other buyers do. Get prepared to move fast if a great deal comes along this way.

3. Find FSBO's

Watch for homes and land for sale by owner as you drive. They often sell for less because the owner doesn't properly appraise the property, or because the owner gets tired of dealing with the sales process and just wants to be done. Do-it-yourself sellers are also saving the cost of the commission they would pay an agent to sell the home, and so can share that savings with you in the form of a lower price.

4. Look For Abandoned Homes

Empty houses are sometimes owned by the bank, and not yet listed for sale. You might get an offer in before anyone else does. Or they can be rentals, and an empty rental sometimes makes owners anxious to sell to be done with being a landlord. Look for overgrown lawns and other clues that a house is vacant, and find out why.

5. Try Low Offers

It's the oldest negotiating technique in existence; simply offer a low price. A seller usually says no, but he may come back with a counter-offer that's lower than the original asking price - even significantly lower. Just be ready to hear a lot of "nos" if you do this as a regular strategy.

6. Find Developer/Landlords

Investors who have both rental properties and development projects may need cash. Houses and condos are selling for less than the cost of construction in many areas. As a result, developers who also have rental houses, strip malls or other income property, may appreciate the opportunity to sell them cheap and solve their cash flow problems they're having with the "spec" homes that are not selling well.

7. Go To Miami

Some areas of the country have been so over-built that prices have fallen by half or more. A house in Miami was recently listed for $10,000. Two dozen ocean-view condos were selling for less than $80,000 - brand new. For a second home, a vacation getaway, or an investment for the future, check out the cities and towns which have been hit hardest by this real estate trouble.

8. Save Your Cash

Getting cheap real estate is always more likely when you have more cash available. Cash means you can close more quickly, giving you an edge - possibly even over a buyer who offers a slightly higher price. Also, you can save the cost of mortgage insurance if you have at least 20% as a down payment. You might consider a home equity line of credit on your own home to have that cash available if you're planning to invest in and flip real estate.

9. Advertise Your Goals

Let your friends and associates and everyone else know what you're looking for, and a deal may come to you - it happens often. For example, a man mentions to a friend that he wants to sell his rental house fast, and that friend recalls overhearing that you are looking for a rental, so he tells the seller, who calls you.

10. Use Newspapers

Many deals on cheap real estate can be found in the newspaper classified advertisements. It's common that one paper in town has most of the cheaper properties, often a weekly paper with lower advertising rates. Find out which paper in your area is best, and get it on the day it comes out. Alternately, you can access most daily newspapers online as well.

Tips For Flipping A House | Cheap Real Estate