Okay, so maybe the real estate market isn�t simply declining on a
slow hill�everyone has their opinions. Some think the market is rolling
down the Grand Canyon with only another Great Depression as it�s
stopping point, while others may think it�s just a recession. What we do
know however, is that sales are up and buys are down. Housing prices
have dropped through the floor and foreclosures are through the roof.
There are some people who purchased their homes at the top of the boom
when everything was climbing sky high that actually owe more on their
homes than the value of their home. Because of this, many people have
opted for foreclosure rather than pay for something that is not worth
the money at the current time. The crash in the real estate market is
not new. In the 1970s, it was also a very bad market for quite a few
years and many people, especially those in the trades, were out of work.
The difference between then and now, however, is the interest rates.
Back in the 1970s, the interest rates for home mortgages were at 18
percent. People not only could not afford to buy homes because of the
bad economy, but also because of the fact that the rates were so high.
In the early 1980s, when the interest rates dropped to 12 percent,
people went crazy. New housing was booming as was everything else. If
someone put their home up on the market at noon, they would have it sold
by 4 p.m. It was a sellers market through and through and remained that
way for a few years. A lot of people made money on real estate investing
during those times, especially new home builders.
The real estate market is always varying, just like the stock market.
You should not be frightened to own real estate. To the contrary, you
should be frightened not to own real estate. Real estate is not only a
solid long term investment that usually always pays off big, but also
something that you actually need. As you need a place to live, it is
better to pay your own mortgage than that of someone else.
If you are searching for real estate investments today, look for
foreclosures. Or, look for short sales that have not yet reached
foreclosure. In a short sale, you can save the owner from going into
foreclosure and usually pick the property up for a lot less money than
it is worth. You can offer low and even offer to allow the seller to
stay in the home, for rent, for a while longer so that they can get
their bearings.
You can find short sales by looking on the docket of the county clerk
court list. A judge has to submit an eviction notice in order for a
foreclosure to begin. This means the bank has already gone through the
court system. You can find this information out at the county
courthouse. Anything that goes through the court is public record. The
judge issues an order for the sheriff to serve eviction papers through
the court system.
Another way to find foreclosures is to contact banks and mortgage
lenders for foreclosure listings. You'll only be told of about already
foreclosed upon property. You can also put an ad in the paper stating
that you are looking for people going into foreclosure and work with
them in this manner. The short sale is one of the things you should look
for when investing in the real estate market today.
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