Why can’t I find
Cheap Houses for Sale?
If you search online every day for a cheap investment properties, and are feeling discouraged by the heightened prices and the speed at which property is selling, you are not alone. You are not alone because demand is outstripping supply, and anyone relying on an online property search will be finding it tough going. So, if you are struggling to find cheap house for sale, what do you do? Reading this post will be a good start.
Why look for cheap houses for sale?
Whether you are searching for buy to let property, commercial rental property or even if you are flipping houses, the sale price of that property will be extremely important. The money that you pay for it will be a decisive factor for your Return on Investment (ROI). They say that the money is made when you buy a property, not when you sell it. But what does that mean?
Often with property deals it is important to start at the end and work backwards. The end will be whatever your final goal is for a property. It could be earning £3,500 per year in rental profit, it could be earning £20,000 by selling it after doing it up, or it could be gaining £80,000 in capital appreciation in ten years’ time.
By understanding your end goal it will be possible to work backwards using your calculations to arrive at a maximum price that you can pay for the property, in order to hit your desired target. Regardless of your end goal, if you paid too much in the first place, you could be stuck with an investment property that is making no money, is losing money or has even gone into negative equity.
For example, if the rental market changes for the worse or interest rates increase, what seemed like a good investment may turn into nothing but a brick based burden. However, doing things the right way, as a savvy and educated investor, will allow you to follow your strategy rather than common trends. It is highly likely that following your strategy will lead to finding cheap houses for sale. So… why can’t you find them now?
Where are the cheapest properties for sale?
While it is easy to blame the current market conditions, there are two main reasons why you may be struggling to find good house deals. The first one is obvious and the second one is less obvious. However, the key component that connects the two is consistent effort. Consistent effort is the mortar that will hold your property investment business together. Allow us to explain.
Many people fail because they simply give up too early. Property investing is a long game that requires a lot of effort. This means being consistent with your strategy for buying property and growing a portfolio of rental properties. Doing little but often will yield better results than doing a lot sporadically.
An important component of building a successful property business will be developing strong relationships with people in your Power Team such as local residents and local estate agents. Such relationships will only grow through a consistent approach to staying in touch and being in the right place at the right time. Which brings us neatly round to the obvious reason why you cannot find the cheapest houses to buy.
The obvious reason
Very simply, you are searching in the wrong places. Doing an online house search to find a property is easy right? You don’t have to speak to anyone, you don’t have to leave the house and it’s the property investor’s version of window shopping. So here’s the crunch, the best property investment deals will not be found online.
The cheapest houses to buy will be found by visiting your investment area, getting to know the locals and speaking with local trades people and businesses. This approach will build your funnel that will lead to the holy grail of property investing – getting direct to vendor.
Getting direct to vendor means bypassing the estate agent and dealing with the property seller in person. Being in the right place at the right time can come about by being known in your investment area, so when someone is thinking of selling, they may come to you first. To arrive at this place brings us back to our dear friend, consistent effort. Consistent effort is also an important component of the less obvious reason why you cannot find the cheapest houses to buy.
The not so obvious reason
Consistent effort will play a pivotal role in your system for finding property deals. Do you even have system? Property investing is all about having the right systems in place and at Asset Academy we have a system for everything, from finding house deals, to making offers, to financing deals, to managing tenants. Everything has a system that has been developed in the real world.
What does a system look like for finding cheap property deals? This kind of system will involve collating contacts, logging who you have spoken to and when you last spoke plus mapping out a strategic marketing campaign. It will identify a clear and efficient path towards that holy grail of getting direct to vendor.
A system on its own is just knowledge about a process however. Understanding the mathematical patterns of ball juggling will not give you the skills to juggle. The important component will be to implement the system. This will mean picking up the phone, leaving the house and most importantly talking to people.
No excuses
The next time you are feeling frustrated through online property searches, consider what most others are NOT doing. The chances are they are not getting out into their investment area. The chances are they are not talking to the right people in a consistent way. The chances are they are not implementing the right system.
Doing things right is something of a speciality for Asset Academy. If you want to learn more why not join a FREE one hour Discovery Training webinar or see what some of our past students have learnt through experience on our podcast: Remote vs Local Investing: Which is Better?