Stress Free Move

Foreclosure auctions are a great place to find cheap real estate, but you have to do your research. Chances are that the owner who was unfortunate enough to let the house go in the first place ran out of money/inclination to do upkeep. That means everything from lawn care to roof and furnace repair. You may be investing in a dump that needs thousands - or tens of thousands - of dollars worth of repair.

Despite that, if you do some research, you can still get a great bargain.

1. Know the area you’re seeking to invest in. Is it up and coming, or on its way out?

2. Do as much as you can to find out about the state of the property you’re bidding on. A foreclosed property isn’t always the same as a regular sale; you can’t always go tromping through with your agent and an inspector. The lender just wants to unload the property, as is.

3. Be realistic. Don’t blow your entire budget thinking you’re getting a great deal on a great house, only to find you have $25,000 worth of repairs to do, and it’s going to take a year before anyone can move in. This is especially important for those who are new to the real estate game. Though you can generally pick up a house for 50-60% of its market value, there will be factors like repair costs and time to be considered.

You’ve been slogging around for over a week, trying to find the perfect apartment or house in the perfect neighborhood. You’ve seen dozens, and a few really caught your eye. Now it’s down to making a choice based on your deciding criteria. Maybe it’s a backyard you want most. Maybe a fireplace or a den or even a built-in gas range. Thing is, you can’t remember who had the best what, because you’ve seen too many places.

Bring a camera.

Any place you visit that is vacant, you can photograph to your heart’s content. If there’s someone still in residence, just ask their permission first. Most times they won’t mind. When you get home for your various house or apartment viewings, organize the pictures by address. Then when it’s time to make a decision based on who had the swing-set or who was closest to the dog park, you can pull the photos up to help you along.

From a story in Reuters:

Rents fell 0.4 percent in the final quarter of 2008, the first decline since early 2003, the study by real estate research firm Reis Inc found.

The vacancy rate rose to 6.6 percent, a level last seen in the first quarter of 2005, and up from 5.7 percent a year earlier.

This means incentives for renters. Just like the stock market and the housing market, this is a market in favor of the renter. Whenever vacancy rates go up, landlords will begin offering incentives to potential tenants.

“The quantity of rental apartments might not be suffering as much, but the price paid by households to occupy those rental units is buckling under the strain, with landlords lowering asking rents and raising the amount of concessions they are willing to provide,” Calanog said.

This provides renters with the opportunity to negotiated freebies: Free month’s rent, free parking, free cable, free gym membership… the possibilities are only limited by what’s available in your area.