Soaking Up The Bubble Bargains

Barbara K wrote a great strategy piece in today’s New York Post about playing the waiting game with the place you want so you can get a good deal.

I know you’ve been reading a lot of bad news about the market these days, but if you have a good credit rating, some cash on hand and a hankering to become a homeowner, now is the time to do it.

The days of having competing buyers in front and in back of you, bidding crazy sums for mediocre fixer-uppers, are over. And there are incredible deals to be had. I just helped a couple of friends buy a prime piece of the Hamptons – a move-in-ready house on a pristine 1-acre lot – for more than $200,000 less than the asking price.

The strategy I used to score my friends their little piece of paradise was completely unconventional. I advised them to do everything you are not supposed to do when making an offer.

I had my friends start very low, offering a price that was a whopping 30 percent off the reduced price. Then we sat back and waited for a response while my friends got pre-approved for a mortgage. Silence can really be golden in real estate these days.