Be Proactive in Your Search

"Typically, buyers already know where they want to live, it's just a question of finding a property for sale in the neighborhood." Does this sound like you? If so, get in your car and drive around the neighborhoods that interests you. However, rather than simply looking for newly posted yard signs, be proactive. Create business cards that advertise you as a buyer.

Go out and buy some Avery business card stationary for your computer's printer. Simply put on the card, "I Want to Buy Your Property - Call Me First" with your name, and how an owner can contact you. As you drive around the neighborhood, get out of your car and talk with homeowners. Ask if they or anyone in the area is considering selling their property. Indicate that you like the area and you are interested in purchasing property in the neighborhood. Give them a card. You can even consider sticking the card in a mailbox of a property that interests you. Let people know that you are interested, and would like to avoid involving an agent.

Why not Have the Agent Find Property for Me?

For starters, you'll have full commission factored in to your final purchase price. Why pay for something you don't need? There was once a day when agents used to sit down with buyers, listen to their needs, and then hunt for the ideal property for the buyer to visit. Well, for the most part, those days no longer exist.

Typically, agents today will print out MLS listings and tell you, the buyer, to go drive by properties on the list and call when you find ones that you would like to visit. Thus, the only benefit the agent added was taping you into the MLS. Well, thanks to REALTOR.com, the MLS is now publicly accessible. The only thing the agent now does for you is manage the process, which is precisely what you are learning how to do while reading this tutorial. So negotiate, and use the seller's agent to your advantage.

Using an Agent to Your Advantage

If you like a particular neighborhood, find a property for sale that's represented by an agent in the neighborhood you are looking and call the agent. Set aside some time to meet with the agent. Tell them up-front that you are not interested in having them represent you as a buyer. Let them know that you are interested in a particular neighborhood. Agents tend to prey on neighborhoods, and attempt to list as many properties as they can in a particular neighborhood.

Anyway, let the agent know that you are interested in the neighborhood, and want to buy. Give the agent your card. Tell the agent that prior to them advertising a new property, you would like them to call you first. Also, negotiate with the agent so that they understand that if you buy the property, this will require very little work on their part. Thus, you would like to have an agreement that they will instantly drop the sales price by 3% since there will be no agent representing you, and that the total agent commission will not exceed 3% if you buy the property. Get it in writing if you can.

Trust us, if the agent thinks they can make a quick sale, they'll gladly make the deal with you. They are still getting the same amount of commission on their end.

Visiting the Property

Once you have found property you are interested in, you will want to visit them. For some properties, you may need to call for an appointment, while others may have open houses. This is our suggestion regarding open houses. If you like the property while at a public open house, immediately tell the seller, that you would like to come back and tour the property privately. Set up a date and time then and leave your card.

Be sure to visit properties while there is daylight, so that you can view the exterior as well as the interior. Also, when you visit a property you will want to take notes, mentally and literally. If the seller has literature for you, take it, but don't waste time reading it while touring the property. You want to make sure you get to see all there is to see at the property. You can review the literature later. Open every door and look in every closet to make sure you get a good understanding of what is being offered for sale. You will need all this information when determining the fair market value of the property.