Buying houses at discount prices

Buying a house is the best way you can createhouse does not mean the home owner would not
immediate equity. Gaining equity through buying asell for the right offer. Although chances of finding
house is something which is very easy to do, assomeone to sell there house through this method
long as you follow these guidelines.aren't very high, you can find great deals by
If you are seeking to buy a house under discountmaking offers that a home owner might just
value you must have the right mindset:take.
"The deal of a decade comes along about once aIf you've been to auctions or looked at properties
week"which have not sold in a while and are being no
- Dolf De Roos, Real estate investor.longer advertised, follow up on them. After so
Houses being sold below market value are outmuch hassle of advertising the house and no sale,
there, its just a matter of knowing where to lookthe vender may be tempted to sell at a discount.
and the buying strategies you use.Buying strategies:
So where can I find houses being sold for aInstead of looking for properties to purchase, let
discount?the properties come to you. Get your own add in
Find motivated sellers. Some examples of theseyour local Newspaper saying something like,"
sellers are people who have experienced death,Serious property buyer, wants to buy houses
divorce, bankruptcy, the less intelligent, peoplefrom motivated sellers quickly". You'll be surprised
who have deadlines, and are developers.at the number of calls you'll receive.
Bankruptcy/Foreclosure:Don't reveal all your cards, as in try not to say
When bankrupt an individual will have the option ofwhy you want the property or how quickly you
selling their house to a third party, most likely at awant to buy. Never make the first offer, let the
cheaper price than market value because theyseller make it. Once the seller states their price
need the money fast. If an Individual is bankrupttag, say you want twice the discount you want
and the bank is the creditor, the bank will takeoff their price. So for example, the seller says
the asset (the house) and have a foreclosure sale.they will sell it for $100,000 and you want a 5%
You will often find a cheap price there as well.discount, (5% of 100,000 = 5,000. 5,000*2
Death:=10,000) offer $90,000 and counter offer up
Although this may seem like profiting of someonefrom there.
else's misery, its not really. If the house is notStaple a check for the deposit payment to your
included in the persons will, it must be sold,next offer. If the seller countersigns the contract
someone has to buy it. If the deeds to theand banks the check they have accepted the
property are transferred to someone else theredeal. The psychological impact of this tactic is
is often a good chance they will not want to holdamazing. This tactic shows the seller that you are
onto it and want to sell it quickly.deadly serious about purchasing the property
Divorce:quickly. It is also very tempting to just bank the
When couple breaks up things often get nastycheck right now even though they will be selling
and they both want to be separated as soon asthe property at a discount.
possible. They will often settle on selling theirDon't put emotions into the picture. Even if you
house for a lower price but quickly.are purchasing a house that will be your home,
Less intelligent:just because you think a bathroom looks
Sometimes people are selling properties with out'adorable' you must not be willing to pay any
the help of a real estate agent and will not knowmore than its worth! This especially applies at
the exact value of their house. They will usuallyauctions where the atmosphere makes it very
price their houses too high because of emotionalhard to not bid.
attachment to it. On the flip side they might beCan I loose the equity that I have created:
ignorant of the real market value and sell it forYes, but not likely. If you are savvy about it you
less than its worth.can time your purchased property to gain even
Deadlines:more equity from appreciation of the housing
Often the best place to find deals. People withmarket in addition to creating immediate equity.
deadlines need to sell their property quickly. TheyIncrease of real estate value by percentage in
may be going overseas or need the money fast.Australian Districts
Almost all people with deadlines will sell theirAs we can see from the graph, housing prices
houses at a discount.eventually all go up due to increasing demand.
Developers:(Picture found here)
In some circumstances property developers mayThe only time you can loose money is if you sell.
have over extended themselves on a project andIf you never sell you will never loose money. You
need to cut their loses. You can pick up discountmay loose equity when the market goes into
houses from their mistakes.recession, but eventually as population and
Always ask why the house is being sold so youdemand for housing increases the property you
can determine whether the seller is motivated orhave purchased will appreciate. If you are looking
not.to continuously gain equity you must purchase in
Other sourceshigh capital gain areas.
Great places to look are under the classifiedWhen the market is booming try to purchase
section in the newspaper, look for things likeproperties for a 5%-10% discount.
"Urgent" or "Heavily reduced". What I love aboutWhen the market is flat try to purchase
ads under the classified section is that real estateproperties for a 10%-15% discount.
agents are not often involved. This is goodWhen the market is in recession try to purchase
because real estate agents will often try to pushproperties for a 15%-30% discount.
up the price of a property so it is above marketNow that you've purchased your house or home
value. People without real estate agents often dofor a discount and gained equity, you should
not know the true market value of theirconsider using the equity you've created. After all
property.its just sitting in your home doing nothing unless
Just because there isn't a "For Sale" sign on ayou use it!