4 Tips for Landing a Great St. Louis Property
There is a lot that goes into buying a great St. Louis property. It takes a combination of due diligence and hard work in several different areas. If you let your guard down in any area along the way you open yourself up to trouble. One mistake with an investment property can end up costing you thousands of dollars. Regardless if you are looking for your first St. Louis property or your next big one the steps to buying the right St. Louis property are the same.
A great deal can get you started on the right foot in real estate investing, but great deals sometimes go south at the closing period. Investors aren’t careful about fees, and in the end, they end up paying a lot of money in closing the deal.
Here are five tips for landing a great St. Louis property.
Set your goals ahead of time
A good investment deal looks different to every investor, and it’s easy to get distracted when a few good deals come your way. When you have an investment strategy and goal in mind, then all those good deals don’t seem so great any more. Only the ones that meet your goals truly stand out.
Set your goals as guides when looking for good St. Louis properties to invest in. If you stumble upon a St. Louis property that looks good, but isn’t close to your goal, then you’ll feel confident dismissing it. Now you may never find a property that meets your goal exactly, but you will look for properties that come the closest. This will stop you from making bad investments.
Visit the St. Louis property before you buy
The photos online don’t always tell the whole story with a St. Louis property. You never know when those shots were taken, and you don’t know what wasn’t photographed on the property.
A great online listing can turn into a dud when you get there so always check out the property before you make a deal.
Make a smart offer
If you miss one investment property, another will always come along. That’s why you should never make an offer that puts you in the red or goes over your budget.
To make a good offer, consider the seller and what he or she needs. If the market it competitive, then a lowball offer will be thrown out right away. If the seller needs to move, then a short closing period may be more enticing than the asking price. Ask your realtor for advice on drafting the right offer and see if there’s any wiggle room to make a deal.
Do your due diligence
Even if your offer is accepted, there are a few things left to do to make sure your St. Louis property meets those goals. You need to have an inspection, and you need to do a title search.
An inspector will go through the house and note any repairs or damages. This is a great way to catch major problems, such as structural issues with the house. You can decide to renegotiate with the seller, or you can walk away from the deal entirely.
Titles sometimes come with debts that you don’t want to be on the hook for. Before you purchase a St. Louis property, make sure you do a title search to check for any of these problems.