Most private and investment buyers do so through estate agents. These often charge the vendor a fee of 1 to 2.5% of the total sale price. You might be able to get a slightly better deal by checking private advertisements. The estate agent should be viewed by investors, as a useful person to ask advice on investment property and to help them get to know the area. In a sellers market, such as what we have in early 2004 in the UK, they may be very busy ? so investors should try and be as efficient as possible with the use of their time.
Estate agents add a lot of value in holding property deals together, solving problems and negotiating tricky issues for you with the seller. However remember they represent the interests of the seller, so be careful with advice you are given on specific property.
The best plan is to get to know one or two estate agents in your chosen area very well ? make sure they know exactly what you want ? be very honest with them. Tell them up front how much you are looking to spend what type of property you might be interested in. Ask them if there are any particularly good deals around for such an investor. You will be surprised what might turn up.
Tell them you like to buy under normal market value since you have finance already arranged and are an experienced investor with a strong track record. Offer to give references.
If you are interested in a particular property, ask about the vendor ? what do they want apart from a good price? Are they in a hurry to sell? Are they looking for an investors to purchase their property? Do they have to sell because of moving jobs, divorce, financial problems? This information will give you an idea about how low a price you can offer. As a general rule, most sellers like investors because they are not in a chain, they often have finance already arranged and they are normally experienced, with high levels of commitment to purchase.
Estate agents often have their own websites that you can check property details on. Some estate agents also advertise with internet portals so you can see many different agents details on the same website. If you think there is not any competition for the property, this is the best situation to be in. Put offers on a fax describing the conditions of your offer, advertising your strong points and saying the offer is subject to contract. Having something in writing for the estate agent to give to the vendor always goes down well and demonstrates your commitment.
If you are desperate to get your offer accepted and do not mind risk, you can offer say a small non refundable deposit in cash within say two days of the offer being accepted. This is to show how serious you are ? of course the vendor can accept, take your cash, then sell to someone else, but the chances of this underhand behaviour happening is very small.
Try to get to know the vendor and strike up a business like relationship with them. Be nice to them, be friendly and courteous. If they like you they are far more likely to accept your offer even if it is low.
Property prices in the UK have dropped sharply in recent months which is not necessarily a bad thing because prices have increased steadily over a number of years now and so a correction was inevitable at some point.
This drop in prices presents a good opportunity for the long-term investor because if you look at the property that is currently for sale, you are likely to find that prices in some areas of the country have fallen to around about what they were about three or four years ago.
So if you're investing for the long-term, which you should be if you want to make serious money from property, then this is a good time to be picking up some bargains, particularly if you are a cash investor or have some spare cash ready to invest.
It may be the case that prices have further to fall, but in the long run property prices only trend in one direction and that's upwards. Plus you can protect yourself to some degree by renting out your property if it's an investment and using it to earn an income, until prices start to rise again when you may consider selling.
The best thing about the current state of the market is that it's now very much a buyers market which means you can negotiate even better deals for yourself.
One way of doing this is by doing thorough research in your local area, picking out properties which are currently already on the market for a decent price, and put in cheeky offers well below the seller's asking price.
You will likely find that most of your offers will get rejected but you only need one seller to accept and you've got yourself an outstanding bargain.
Another good method of snapping up a cheap property is by visiting property auctions. Here you will find lots of properties selling for well below their true market value in a lot of cases, particularly at the moment when the property market is in a slowdown, because you have a lot less buyers to compete with.
So overall although prices are dropping slightly, in the long term this could turn out to be a good opportunity to negotiate some very good prices at below the true market value, and increase your chances of making good profits in years to come when the market inevitably picks up again.
Both Splatthefly & James Woolley are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Splatthefly has sinced written about articles on various topics from Property Agents, Property Investment and Property Agents. Biography: Andrew Stefanczyk has been involved in property investment for fifteen years and also runs a website for property investors.. Splatthefly's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.
James Woolley has sinced written about articles on various topics from The Internet, Affiliate Programs and Acne Treatment. Click here to learn the very best tips and strategies for and. James Woolley's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.