Have you ever wondered why some real estate purchasers seem to know what is value and seek out the perfect property, while others go round and round in circles, constantly missing out on that perfect property? Well there is no one simple answer, but here are a few hot tips and secrets to help you with your next real estate purchase.
Finding that next perfect piece of real estate is not a sport for the couch potato. Knowing your real estate market is the key and the only way to know your real estate market is to be out and about in it. Go to open houses, attend auctions and take every opportunity to get to know the market you are going to buy into. In short finding that perfect piece of real estate is actually a part time job.
Use the internet. A lot of the initial leg work can be done in the newspapers and on the internet. You can straight away identify which agents have properties of interests and you can get an initial feel for pricing over a broad range of properties. Create a list or map of properties from your internet research and hit the pavement.
Drive by each property, get out and listen for noises, walk around the block talking with someone to listen for annoying or savage dogs. If you happen to spot a neighbor outside ask a few open ended questions about what they most like a bout living here and what they would change. Drive around each neighborhood looking for factories, treatment plants, vents, heavy traffic or any other things that might create noise or air pollution to local residents.
Once you know what suburb you want to purchase your new real estate its time to create a map of streets and areas you like and dislike. Each time you do an open house inspection, drive by or walk the streets and you particularly like or dislike a street its time to color code it on the map. Use red stickers or pen for areas you dislike and green for nicer areas.
Attend open houses on at least your first 3 weekends. Open houses often reveal a lot more then a drive by or photo can, so really treasure the opportunity to attend open houses for comparable real estate to the properties you are looking for. It is easy to 10 or more open hoses on any given Saturday. Take the opportunity to talk to the agent as they will often refer you to similar listings or even upcoming listings.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means but these tips alone will help you stay ahead of the crowd when it comes to your next real estate purchase.
By:Matthew Connors
