How To Buy Distressed Real Estate Properties

So, what actually is a distressed property anyway? Well, some of the things that can characterize a distressed property are listed below:

Property needs some TLC – one of the best reasons as to why you might find yourself bagging a bargain with a distressed property is due to the property needing some TLC in order to bring it back up to a marketable standard. A property which has not had much love and care in recent years and which has seen better days will need some time and investment put into it in order to modernize it and bring it up to the current standard, and this can mean that the price of the property itself will be lower. Furthermore, this sort of issue can also be used as a means of bargaining with the seller of the property so that you get the best price possible when buying a distressed property needing some care and TLC. When buying a house that needs some work to bring it up to modern standards, make sure you do your research first. If the property is way below what you would expect, ask yourself why and find out about all of the issues that the property could have first! Furthermore, you should also check that you will be able to put in the time, investment and manpower required before buying a property that needs work, as if you can’t commit to this then you might actually be losing out instead of getting a bargain for your money!

Repossessed properties – if a property has been repossessed by the bank for the owner of the property not keeping up with their repayments then you may be able to get a really good price on the property value itself; after all, the banks don’t want these properties hanging around and so will offer a more generous price than the property might actually be worth to try and tempt investors and buyers to make a quick purchase. After all, the property is only losing money whilst it remains unoccupied!

Death in the family – if the property was owned by someone who died, and the property has then been inherited by the family members of the deceased individual, it is understandable that the family may not want the house hanging around and reminding them of their lost loved one. As a result of this, the family may be willing to cut the price of the property in order to find it a buyer more quickly so that they don’t have to keep thinking about it, which can be understandably distressing for people in this situation.

Divorce – if a couple have divorced from each other then they will likely be looking at selling the property that they owned together in order to get away from the memories, and both will want the money from the property sale as soon as possible often. Therefore, these cases may result in the property being sold for lower than the normal market value so that the divorcees can move on with their lives more quickly than they may otherwise have been able to do.

This is far from an exhaustive list; indeed, the reasons for a property to be considered distressed are numerous! So, if you think about buying one, just make sure you do your research to understand why the property is being offered on the market to buyers for a price that is so seemingly affordable – just because a property is discounted doesn’t always mean it is a great bargain!

Finding distressed properties for sale can be a great way of bagging a discount on your next house purchase, with distressed properties often having a reduction in their price of around 10 to 30% depending on the reasons for the property being distressed and how desperate the owners of the property or the sellers are to get rid of it quickly. However, because there are such good deals to be had with distressed properties, it is safe to say that these properties tend to fly off the market and so finding one when they become available can be a bit difficult; therefore, you should make sure that you know where to look if you want to get your own hands on a distressed property for inclusion in your property portfolio.

When looking for a distressed property, there are a few different places that you could look. If you’re after a property that needs some TLC, these often are sold regularly at property auctions, so you may wish to look into when your next property auction is being held. In addition to this, there are a plethora of different government records that you might want to consider consulting while looking for a distressed property – although it should be noted that this can be an incredibly expensive and timely process, depending on how you are conducting your search.

So, what’s the alternative if you don’t fancy going to an auction for your next property or otherwise don’t want a property that needs some TLC to get it into a good standard? If you want a method for finding distressed properties that is easier and cheaper, you may want to instead consider approaching a team dedicated toward finding these properties.

Teams specializing in finding properties being offered for discount prices will have the skills and experience to find these homes before the rest of the market can jump on them, and this can give you a good option for getting one for your own portfolio.

Buying distressed properties can be a good way for you to save money on your property investment portfolio, regardless of what your intentions are for the property. If you have the time and money to put into a property that needs some TLC and care to get it up to a modern standard, for example, you could bag yourself a huge bargain on the normal property value; alternatively, there are numerous other reasons that can make a property distressed and lower its price tag, and these can represent an excellent opportunity for an investor who manages to find a property of this type!

Many professionals save both time and money using Geopoint Data to find profitable distressed properties.