John

There are a lot of options right now for buyers as the market is over built and foreclosures abound. But there are more options for first time home buyers as most banks or lenders have special products for first time buyers, say waiving of costing costs or the like. Best advice I'd give is to talk to a number of banks and lenders, get pre-approved, and then talk to a few real estate agents and tell them what you're looking for. Now days though, you can do a lot of research online, like at Truila and other sites. Do your own research, scanning homes you like, and then bring your information to the agents.

Don't rush into anything, get information from agents and then double check it yourself. Get the prices for similar homes that have sold in the area you're looking, not what they're listed at but what they sold for.

Think about how long you want to live in the property. What are the long term outlooks for the area you're buying in. Put together a plan of what you're goals are for the home. - Fri Mar 7 2008, 20:44

The market looks flat for the next few years or more, but again this depends upon where you're buying the property. If you enjoy the process of rehabbing a home then maybe this isn't a bad plan but turning the property around in a few years might not be possible and you won't see a jump in appreciation like you did maybe three or four areas. Maybe you look for a home that's split level, fix it up and then rent out the upstairs or downstairs, have cash flow. It is a buyers market right now but will be for some time in most areas, so no need to rush into anything.

Do your research about the neighborhood and area you're buying in, job projections, new companies coming into the area, transportation developments, what sets the area apart from others, will the area be desirable in five or ten years, what are the rental rates, and so on. Hope this helps. - Fri Mar 7 2008, 20:31

When buying pre-foreclosure you can take over the mortgage of the seller, this way you can avoid paying all the money upfront. When buying at foreclosure, via an auction, you usually have to have a cashiers check for a certain percentage of the property, and then have a period of time to pay the rest (say 30 or 90 days). But when buying at foreclosure you usually don't get to see the property and a title search is crucial to see if there are any liens on the home. It's wise to get advice from an experienced expert to help you walk you through the process if this is your first time buying at the foreclosure stage. If you buy an REO, after a property has foreclosed, then all liens are the banks responsibility.
http://investmentpropertiesinfo.com - Mon Mar 3 2008, 14:03

I don't think it has any bearing on the price of the home unless this is the second or third open house. I'd say the number of times the house was shown is more indicative of a possible deal or price reduction, but then again this could just be viewer demand. I'd say it's the former though - more open houses mean less demand. Overall, I'd say that the best bet for a price reduction is if how long the property has been on the market and general outlook for the local area. Good thinking though...Hope this helps. - Fri Feb 29 2008, 14:15

I really like the question. It's terribly interesting how themes repeat themselves all the time, everyone trying to get in on the gold rush, whether that's by buying Internet companies in early 2000 or buying real estate in 2006, as the real estate was saturated. I think the best advice for anyone is establish good credit and save money, wait for your chance. Now, is actually a great time to buy property, and then I think the same is coming for the stock market.

Some thing to consider, what’s your skill set? If you’re knowledge about fixing up houses, then buy a house at a low rate that needs work. If you’re knowledgeable about a certain sector of stocks, but in that area. Stick with what you know and like.

The next big wave is in the energy saving arena, solar stocks are certainly a rage or have been recently. I think that’s an interesting area to explore. As for oil, Brazil just located some reserves of oil, I think oil is still what moves every market as it’s price fluctuates, but environmentally impacting companies will have a big influence. - Mon Feb 18 2008, 13:59