Real Estate Blog

How to find great real estate deals

September 11th, 2008

There are plenty of great real estate investment opportunities, all you have to do is know where to look. The following are the steps that you can take so that you can find some great real estate deals to invest your money in.

The first thing that you want to do is to choose a territory that you are going to make your shopping area. The way that people who are successful in real estate do it is that, once they have chosen an area, they learn everything that they can about the area. This is something that will show potential buyers that you are familiar with the area and make them more apt to purchase.


Once you have found the territory, find out everything you can about it. Something important to know is what the prices of recently sold properties were. This will tell you what is a good deal, and what is overpriced. Also find out what buyers are going to want to know: about schools, shopping, crime rates, mass transit, and other items that buyers are going to ask about.

Another thing that you will want to do is to go for a drive around the territory. You want to know it like the back of your hand. You want to take notes of the properties that are up for sale, and the ones that are looking neglected. When you see an open house, go into the house and take a look around. If there isn’t an open house at that moment, give a call to the real estate agent and make an appointment to take a look at the house.

Remember, offer good dealers to motivated sellers. If you see a neglected house, it might be an opportunity to see if the person is interested in selling it. If you are comfortable talking with someone one on one, you can knock on doors. Another idea is to send them a handwritten note in the mail. Don’t be forceful, but let them know that you might be interested in buying their house if they are thinking about selling.

A couple of things to remember:

If you find yourself dealing with a homeowner who is distressed and flustered, the last thing that you want to do is to distress them more. Act like someone who is just looking to buy a house for yourself.

It’s always a good idea to have things like investors or mortgage in the works beforehand, because this way you have the means lined up if you find a good deal. The last thing that you want to do is to be floundering about and take the chance of losing a great deal.

Before you sign the contract, make sure that you know everything about the property that you can. Make sure that the person you are dealing with is the actual owner of the property, get the property inspected by someone qualified to do it, and find out if there are any liens on the property.

Entry Filed under: Investment, Buying Tips