subject: Finding a Home Among Listings of Distressed Properties [print this page] Finding a Home Among Listings of Distressed Properties
Online listings of distressed properties can be very useful for someone looking to buy a new house. These information sources can tell the buyer what properties are available at his preferred locations and how much these homes would cost. Before deciding on a property though, a home buyer should have gone through all the necessary steps of preparation.
Making a Short List
It is always advisable to have more than one option when it comes to buying a house. A buyer should create a short list of the properties he is interested in and select his final choice from this short list. Ideally, an individual or private home buyer should have a maximum of five dwellings listed on his short list, anything beyond that would be a waste of time and a waste of effort. It is also advisable to select properties that are located in one city or county, or at least, as near to each other as possible to make inspections and personal visits as convenient as possible.
Armed with listings of distressed properties, a buyer should then get in touch with a real estate agent and seek his professional opinion about each property that interests him. Some buyers would rather not hire real estate agents, but this is a mistake, particularly for first time homebuyers.
No matter how prepared a buyer thinks he is, a professional opinion, especially in a purchase as significant as a house, is always significant. Agents can also help buyers determine which local markets will have the best chance of appreciating in the future. They can also help negotiate the price and provide advice on whether the property is worth it after the cost of repairs and other fees have been taken into account.
When choosing listings of distressed properties, online providers are always the better option since they are the most up to date and contain more options than printed versions. After all, it would be a waste of time for a homebuyer to make a short list of properties only to find out that most of them have already been taken out of the market by another buyer.
