Buying Real Estate Thats Not For Sale

Buying real estate can start with a look in the newspaper, a visit to a broker, or a search online. These are all good ways to find your next investment property. You're looking at the same properties as every other investor, of course, so it's not always easy to beat the competition to a great buy.

A better way to find good real estate investments is to look for properties that aren't yet for sale, and make an offer. I bought my first home this way. I put an ad in the paper stating what I was looking for, and soon had a call from an old couple that had been thinking about selling. I bought their place at a good price, and they saved a broker's commission.

Buying investment real estate that isn't for sale starts with a three step search process. First decide what you are looking for. Single family rentals or apartment buildings? Then start looking for properties that fit your criteria. Then contact the owners.

Buying Real Estate From Non-Sellers

Don't limit yourself to "fixer-uppers" or other "problem" properties that seem more likely to have owners willing to sell. Many owners of investment real estate have thought of selling, so you can start with almost any building you like. You never know beforehand if or why a landlord is ready to call it quits. You find out by asking.

Tact is necessary here. Call the owner and tell him you're an investor, not a broker. Let him know that you like what you see. Tell him you can have an offer ready in a week if he's interested. If he's not interested, thank him politely and hang up, but send him your card or a letter. Many investors have bought from owners that changed their minds.

If there is some interest, explain that you are an investor, so your offer will have to be based on your return on investment. This means you'll need to see the books. Specifically, you'll need to see the rent roll, listing the units and what they rent for, plus current occupancy, and operating expenses for the last year.

Have a confidentiallity agreement ready before you call. Let the owner know that you'll sign it and deliver it to him before you see the books. He may not want to let the tenants know he's thinking of selling, so inspecting the units may have to wait until you make an offer. Just make an acceptable inspection a contingency in the offer.

Why is buy investment properties this way? No competition and no sales commission means you may get a better price. Also, instead of waiting for that perfect property to be listed for sale, you just find it now. Why wait until it's for sale before buying real estate?

Steve Gillman has invested real estate for years. See a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500 on his home page, or go straight to the section on Investing In Real Estate: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Realtors Say Foreigners Hold Key to Real Estate Revival - FOXNews

Investment Regimes for Indian Real Estate Sector Explored - MarketWatch

Real Estate Market Slumps, Showhomes Soars - MarketWatch

Moody#39;s: Commercial real estate prices rise - CNNMoney.com

Architects see drop in real estate design contracts - Los Angeles Times

Research and Markets: Investor#39;s Suffrage: Real Estate Investment ... - MarketWatch

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Target shareholder revises real estate proposal - The Associated Press

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E-House Reports Third Quarter 2008 Results - MarketWatch

UPDATE 1-Dubai real estate suffers as distressed sales rise - Reuters

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Artis Real Estate Investment Trust announces monthly cash distribution - FOXBusiness

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-0fd=Rurl=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/artis-real-estate-investment-trust-announces-monthly-cash-distribution-319904495/cid=1272287796ei=HnolSYezN5WO9QT-2OHEAQusg=AFQjCNE_tSDcA8YpFcuxTYrBZPvVjkLWnQArtis bReal Estate/b Investment Trust announces monthly cash distribution/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fFOXBusinessnbsp;-/font nobr10 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Artis is a growth-oriented breal estate/b investment trust focused exclusively on commercial properties located in primary and growing secondary markets in b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-1fd=Rurl=http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D2192:amid-global-economic-slowdown-investors-are-well-advised-to-train-their-sights-on-real-estate-%26catid%3D47:propertiescid=1272287796ei=HnolSYezN5WO9QT-2OHEAQusg=AFQjCNHVNHHLQLrf-yWB0-tMtp4eiNcNbA‘Amid global economic slowdown, investors are well-advised to b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrBusiness Mirror/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-2fd=Rurl=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2008/19/c2246.htmlcid=1272287796ei=HnolSYezN5WO9QT-2OHEAQusg=AFQjCNH_IgbqvL-jr70w0chnC-bcLBMb8wCrombie REIT announces monthly distribution/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCanada NewsWire (press release)/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-3fd=Rurl=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/investors-real-estate-trust-announces-increase-regular-quarterly-common-share-1154743513/cid=1272287796ei=HnolSYezN5WO9QT-2OHEAQusg=AFQjCNHFG3TEubGZGJYreAIChM3K1RTY6wInvestors bReal Estate/b Trust Announces Increase in Regular b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrFOXBusiness/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/9-4fd=Rurl=http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/holloway-lodging-real-estate-investment-trust-announces-monthly-distribution-1482787386/cid=1272287796ei=HnolSYezN5WO9QT-2OHEAQusg=AFQjCNGF0fSRGLDBl0wyz5bsTIXOqwvvbAnobrFOXBusiness/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1272287796hl=ennobrall 24 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real-Estate - Google News

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