Are you looking to purchase? Have you considered buying from your current landlord Back in 2015, when the market was in its “blast off” stages, we published a column on how it was a viable investment to buy your landlords house; the house that you are currently renting. Click here to check out the previous article.
Surprisingly some of the same reason applies to today’s Real Estate market, here in Colorado.
- Your landlord is going to give you the first opportunity before putting the property on the market and making available to all buyers.
- Your landlord may be more willing to assist with closing costs and/or using your deposit as earnest money, or even better, both!
- Could have a high possibility that they will be selling below market value and could walk in with some equity
- If any upgrades or repairs need to be done, they will be willing to negotiate on price and/or funds towards closing costs or lowing purchase price.
With the Denver housing market cooling off a little bit we might be seeing some of these reasons coming back into play, specifically the seller concessions. Sellers willing to pay for the new buyers closing cost so the transaction can be approved and streamlined. Something that we here in Denver haven’t seen since 2015.
The facts are that in July 2018 the median house price was $417,500 that’s a 0.60% drop from June 2018[1]. If this trend continues we will be seeing homes staying on the market longer. Some sellers may be willing to offer concessions in order to move the property faster. And they may also start looking to those they have done business with previously. Now, Denver housing market is still over the national average for growth for the past year, so these deals will be few and far between. My point being is to just ask your landlord if they want to take advantage of a hot market and sell.
If you are interested in buying, look first in the home and/or town home or condo you are renting. Check out Homes.com, as they have put out a great step by step guide on how to go about it. For example:
#1- A buyer will need to do a comparative market analysis. This will give you enough info on what a competitive price would be for that home.
#2- Get pre-approved by a lender, ASAP!
#3- Have a conversation with your landlord.
#4- And lastly, hire a real estate agent[2].
Note: You can negotiate price points. If your landlord already has an agent or if you present an agent, and then only one agent is involved, then you can negotiate with the agent (Realtor) to negotiate their fees. This saves the seller (your landlord) money! Win, win!
Contact our office today if you would like to get pre-approved and/or have any questions.
Resources:
[1] https://www.thedenverchannel.com/lifestyle/real-estate/report-denver-housing-market-showing-signs-of-cooling
[2] https://www.homes.com/blog/2017/04/approach-landlord-buying-house/
