Brad's Real Estate Blog

Wouldn't you love to get a bargain on your next home?

That's still a high hurdle. You may have heard that the real estate market is cooling. So how can you pluck that rare bargain?

The place to start is with properties that have already missed their market window. When a house gets beyond a few weeks on the market, many buyers will view it as being shopworn. It's yours for the plucking, but you'll need to double up on due diligence: The home may be overpriced or may be in horrible condition.

Neither of these is insuperable, but you have to go in knowing what the house is really worth. And when you write a contract for a property that is overpriced or undermaintained, you should expect that your offer will be rejected. The problem may be an error by the listing Realtor, but the more common cause is an obstinate seller.

But time is on your side. Houses are not sold in a vacuum. Sellers have needs that they must satisfy: downsizing, a job transfer, a need for cash. Some can wait out the market forever, but most will eventually swallow hard and take an offer that is less than they had hoped for.

The trick to creative negotiation is to find out what the sellers really want and give them that. It may not be price. It may be a particular closing date, a waiver of all repairs or a six-month leaseback. If you can figure out why earlier contracts failed, you can tailor your offer to give the sellers what they want most, taking back concessions in other places.

And remember that your bargain need not come in the form of a lower price. You can pay the full market value, instead taking seller contributions to your down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses. The few extra dollars in mortgage payments will be dwarfed by the money you'll save at the closing table.