Investing in real estate can be tricky business if you don’t know the nuances of it. While terms like mortgages, down payment, and foreclosures can be daunting, help is at hand in the form of real estate guru Jeff Adams, who shares a few secrets to help you in your real estate investment.
1. Enroll in Multiple Listing Services
No one understands the need for you to find your dream home better than your realtor. Therefore, look at as many databases for regional and national houses and encourage your realtor to enlist the help of smaller realtors. Ensure that you inspect all properties in person and carefully evaluate the worth of the property. Sometimes the local realtors may be privy to more secluded or bespoke properties; so don’t be quick to discount them!
2. The Neighborhood Matters
It is all about the location! A property may be exactly where you picture your future home to be, and may be everything you are looking for in a house. However, the role a neighborhood plays in selecting a house cannot be underestimated. The factors you have to consider are – the crime rate in the area, how accessible the area is to amenities such as schools or commercial spaces and if the area has seen a lot of foreclosures of late. So before you seal the deal, drive around the neighborhood a few times at different times of the day and talk to your neighbors to get a better idea of what you are signing up to.
3. You need a Proper Home Inspection
Regardless of who else has inspected your home, Jeff Adams urges you to use your own contractor to get the house appraised. Recheck the foundation and determine how close you are to a disaster zone. This will give you a realistic picture of how the next ten years with your house will look as well as how much insurance you should be paying.
4. Do Not Cut Corners
The way to look at buying a house is as an investment rather than a liability. It may be tempting to consider cutting corners to reduce the overall price of the house but those fixes are temporary. While the price of fixing the house may be high, in the long run it will help you save your money and time.
5. Do not Shy away from a Bidding War
While the term bidding war may seem daunting, it is perfectly natural to go through the bidding process while buying a house. Don’t shy away from it. Hold your ground firmly but also get the property appraised to make sure that your neither overpaying nor quoting too less.
Jeff Adams with several years of experience in the real estate game has many more such secrets to share. Read his books, or sign up for sessions with the man himself for a more in-depth look at how this business works and how best you can get ahead in the real estate investment game. Especially as a first time investor, you can learn a lot about real estate investment from him and his team.
