Читать книгу Foreclosure Investing For Dummies - Ralph R. Roberts - Страница 21

Tattoo the following message on your forehead: My eyes, or no buys. You can look at the title work and other property documents until your eyes cross, but you don’t know the condition of the property unless you see it for yourself. I recommend that you do the following:

 Visit the property and the neighborhood it’s in. Never try to assess the value of a property in a vacuum. The condition of the neighborhood affects the sale price.

 Walk around the property and inspect it from all four sides. The front of the house can look like the Taj Mahal while the back or sides look more like a bombed-out bunker. See Chapter 8 for additional suggestions on doing drive-by and walk-around inspections.

 If possible, get inside and look around. You don’t want to get arrested for trespassing or run off by an angry homeowner, but if the homeowner invites you in, accept the invitation.

If the house is currently listed with a broker, make an appointment to view it. This approach is an excellent way to get the inside scoop without being accused of trespassing or voyeurism! You don’t have to tell the broker what you know about the property, why you’re interested in it, or anything else that might increase the asking price.

See Chapter 8 for more tips on inspecting the property with your own two eyes.

This cursory inspection offers you only a glimpse of the property, and in foreclosure investing, that’s all you get sometimes, especially if you're buying the property at an auction. When buying a property directly from the homeowners before auction, make your offer conditional upon a satisfactory inspection, and have the property professionally inspected before closing. This inspection will uncover any costly defects and give you a ballpark estimate of the cost of repairs and renovations needed to bring the property up to market value. If the property requires repairs, try to negotiate a price reduction instead of canceling the deal. If the estimated cost of repairs is $5,000, for example, try to get a reduction of $6,000.