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Real Estate Investment Success Series Tip #4 - How To Spot A Real Estate Investment Bargain

This article is part of our real estate investment success series.

As mentioned in our previous article, like in value investing in stocks as made popular by Benjamin Graham, money is made in the purchase of real estate investment property. You want therefore to purchase property with good rental yield and that is at a discount relative to the surrounding area. This article identifies three ways to find a below market real estate deal so that you can either resell it later at a higher price or enjoy lower mortgage instalment payments and from that a greater cash flow.

Method #1- Distress sales and foreclosure

The general rule of thumb in real estate investment is that the target property might sell for a price lower than the areas average if the owner is in distress. There are two possible situations that you might want to look out for so that you can negotiate with the owner to reduce their asking price.

Firstly, look out for mortgage foreclosures on property and monitor the property auction sites. Banks may under-finance property meaning that they might not want to risk financing the property and then have to sell the property at a loss during a recession (negative equity situation). So what happens is when the mortgagor (the owner) is in default of his mortgage, the bank would foreclose the property and auction off the property and sell it off. Note that under the common law, while the bank is supposed to get the best value for the owner, this sometimes does not happen and the best way the bank can discharge its liability is to auction off the property.

As we can tell from the above analysis, the bank usually just wants to get the selling price enough to cover the outstanding mortgage and so the reserve price for such auctions may be below valuation prices. Spend some time attending such real estate auctions and it could pay off in helping you get a property at below market value.

Method #2- Migration

When people want to migrate out of a country fast, there is a high chance that they will not be picky about what price the property can fetch. These people generally want to sell off their property fast and the first prospective buyer that appears on the horizon for their real estate would usually benefit from this. On your part, you would want to get an independent valuation of the real estate and then make an offer.

Ann wanted a property near the city?s amenities and was looking for such a property. There was a family that was moving over to France and sold it to her at a bargain. It turned out that what that family wanted was hard cash fast so that they could move out. Ann gave it to them and all parties were very satisfied. Thus bargains can be found if you know more about your seller?s reason for selling.

Method #3- Look for landlords with attitude problems

This strategy is rooted in human nature and you may chuckle when you hear it. In some areas, some properties are always yielding lower rentals than other places and this might be because of the landlord rather than any other fundamental reason. If the landlord has a bad temper for instance and then finds it hard to get tenants who can stay, might try to entice present tenants to stay with lower rentals. This would therefore translate into a lower valuation for the property. At the point where you appear on the scene, some of these sellers are willing to accept a lower price to get a problem off their hands.

Things to note with this real estate investment method include spending some time with neighbours staying around the property in question to find out any hidden defects, bad tenants or crime related problems that the owner may not be telling you about the area. It may not be all the landlord?s fault.

In conclusion, we have spotted three ways that you can take into account when analyzing a real estate investment. Real estate investment can be said to be like any other form of shopping as you want the best quality for the lowest price. But do not be let paralysis by analysis stop you from taking action. Here?s wishing you all the best in your real estate investment endeavours!

Joel Teo takes a keen interest in real estate investment as part of a larger investment portfolio. For more tips on real estate investing check out our real estate investment success series.

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