Spotting Your Dream Real Estate
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

Introduction

Real estate or tangible property is an official term that includes land, along with all the natural resources and permanent buildings on it. The term real estate originates from the feudal code, which states in a monarchy all land is considered to be the assets of the ruler. Real estate was thus treated equivalent to ‘royal estate’, real originating from the French word ‘royale’.

Recently, real estate purchase has become a financially attractive investment. Given the fact that the world’s economy is likely to be dogged by a significant inflation for years and considering the perennial demand-supply gap in the housing sector, a real estate investment is bound to appreciate with time. Time and again, the boom in real estate investment has beaten inflation worldwide, and real estate is therefore, considered a good hedge against inflation.

Professionals are often needed to evaluate real estate and facilitate transactions, and their services include:

Property Appraisal - Specialized evaluation services
Brokerage services - Facilitating buyers and sellers in dealings
Development - Modernizing land by adding or replacing buildings
Property management - Managing property for the owner
Relocation - Relocating people or business to different country

Negotiate

Once the person has narrowed down to a property, negotiation of price and other issues come to the fore. In property buying, price negotiation is an art. Depending on whether you are purchasing from the seller with or without an agent, or you are purchasing the real estate directly from the builder, there are certain approaches.

At the outset, keep in mind that you should not be too anxious to finalize the deal. A slip-up at this stage could end up costing you several thousand dollars. Check the asking price with the seller or the builder. Even if you like the property, do not make a counter offer, but promise to revert in a few days. If you are dealing through a real estate agent, let him know since you are considering other alternatives, the price you are offering is firm but negotiable.

If you want the seller to lower his price by at least ten per cent, quote a price twenty per cent lower than the asking price. Don’t be the first to raise the offer, but simply increase the price by the same amount by which the seller decreases his asking price. As the gap narrows, the buyer and the seller are likely to settle on a mutually agreeable value. While negotiating make sure that the property will be transferred to your name in ‘as is where is’ condition. Once you reach an understanding with the seller, get it on paper in the form of an Agreement to Sell.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.