I received a question on my recent article titled “The Golden Age of America” and I wanted to post my response for your benefit.   Here was the question:

I would love to buy a piece of America now while prices are suppressed especially income producing real estate properties in the U.S. But, specifically, exactly how do you find and pick up some great deals on bank-owned and short-sale properties.

I would love to purchase a single family home in beautiful Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for only $65,000.  I just don’t think the vast majority of people — myself included — know how to find this type of property and then close the deal.

I guess I just don’t know the right people.

I’ll tell you how I got a great deal on a short-sale property.  My wife and I looked at many homes on realtor.com until we found a few properties that were good candidates for rental properties.  One of these was a nice property listed for $99,000.  This home was going for $250,000 a couple of years ago.

We called the listing agent directly and inspected the property thoroughly.  I suggest you work with the listing agent directly.  The listing agent will work extra hard for you because they will get the maximum commission by being the agent for both the buyer and the seller.

The owner of the single family home owed the banks $200,000 for his two mortgages.  We offered a low-ball offer of $55K and he accepted, because the bank was going to take the hit in the short-sale and he just wanted to get rid of the property.  The whole process took five months and the banks finally accepted $65,000 for the house.

An impatient person would have asked for their deposit back after a couple of months of waiting – and that’s why most short-sales don’t get completed.  The key to getting a fantastic deal on short-sale properties is to have plenty of patience.   Short-sales take time to close and can be frustrating at times, but you could truly get the deal of the century in today’s real estate market.

Best Wishes,

Ted Peroulakis