Purchasing a home in a less conventional manner can really get you a great deal. The object is that you have to know where and how to find the best deals. Traversing the traditional home-buying routes won’t just naturally reveal your diamond in the rough.
You have to know how to do the digging. If you’re not sure where to begin, take the time to do a little research. Try reading through a few excellent ways to buy a home for a low price by traversing the less traditional ways to procure a property.
Shop around for foreclosures
You could start by searching around for foreclosure properties in your chosen area. You can get a much lower price on the home, and you won’t be haggling with an emotional owner. The bank wants to get rid of the property, and you won’t have much trouble working out an agreement.
The risk involved in purchasing a foreclosure home is that they are often sold “as-is,” which means that what you see is what you get. A home inspection is vital on a foreclosure.
If the former owners didn’t have the money to pay their mortgage, you can assume they didn’t have the money to regularly maintain the home. There may be a few things to be fixed. The point is to make sure none of the fixes are going to cost a fortune.
Find and purchase a non-performing note
Purchasing a non-performing note is very similar to the process of purchasing a home mortgage in foreclosure. The mortgage note is “non-performing” meaning that the bank is not currently making any money on the loan.
By choosing to take over the loan, you assume responsibility for all the payments and repairs needed to bring the property up to specs. It’s not always a terrible deal, and it’s worth doing a bit of research.
Consider the benefits of a short-sale
Purchasing a short sale is a less rocky road to travel with real estate, but you may have to wait a while to get the keys to your new home. When you invest in a short-sale, the current homeowner still technically owns the home.
However, the bank holding the mortgage has agreed to allow them to sell the home at a lower cost than what is owed on the loan. This action is used to save the bank the trouble of following through with a formal foreclosure.
Look for local Good Neighbor programs
No matter where you are seeking a property, there’s likely a program that is aimed towards helping those with less than stellar financial standings become homeowners. Do some thorough research, and dig up your local resources.