Finding a Good Real Estate Investment Deal
If you’re crazy, or addicted enough to still want to invest in real estate right now, there are a few things to help you on your way. We are going to discuss the best ways of bagging a bargain to get you on the ladder, or further up it even in a difficult market.
Finding real estate deals, especially somewhere like Naples, is an art form. It takes skill and practice, but almost anyone can do it with the right mentor, and application. Finding a motivated seller is the key here. The seller has to want to do a deal for you to be able to make any money, and finding one is all about research, advertising, marketing and who you know.
Finding the motivated seller is easier once you know what can motivate them to sell. The main reasons are emotional ones, those who get emotional about property fail to see things clearly, and fails to see the property clearly, which makes them ripe for doing deals. Such reasons can be divorce, time, bereavement, job relocation, financial problems or perceived property or neighborhood problems.
Those are just some of the motives behind a motivated seller and you will notice that none of them are insurmountable to the investor. A bad neighborhood might give you pause, but if other people live there already, you should be able to rent it out no problem.
The application of time and money can solve almost any real estate problem, you just have to bear that in mind when dealing with an emotionally motivated seller.
Finding available properties is all about getting your nose to the ground. Newspapers, websites and other traditional methods are well enough, but all investors use those. To get the edge, and the deal you have to do more.
Get in the car and drive around. Target desirable neighborhoods and see what’s around, choose one and stick with it for a while. Learn the areas, prices, types of families, job prospects and any other pertinent information. This is called farming, and the more you know about a particular area, the more aware you will become of potential deals in your farming area.
Look for vacant, ugly or properties needing renovation. If you find some, knock on the door, or the neighbors door and get information. Ask them if they want to sell, or who the landlord is. Neighbors don’t want to live next door to a wreck so they can be quite forthcoming.
Get the word out that you’re an investor looking for property. Visit open houses, meet people and hand out your card. Meet agents, other investors and generally make yourself known. Even if you don’t make contacts at an open house, you will get to know the style and layout of particular properties, and their worth, which is all good ground work.
It takes work and dedication to make it in real estate. It always has, but even more so now. It takes research, work, time and effort to get anywhere but if it’s for you there is no feeling like it when you pick up a bargain.
