Finding Housing in a Recession

Believe it or not, the period immediately following a recession is one of the best times to get involved in the real estate market. The volatility of the Great Recession was actually one of the best times in recent history to purchase real estate as long as you had the appropriate amount of capital and kept to the same time frame. Here are some of the things that you should consider if you are in the market for real estate in this continued period of worldwide recession.

1. Take advantage of the unprecedented interest rates of today.
   Buying houses today with a mortgage is as close to a cash payment as it is ever going to be. The low rates that are being held down by the major world banks will be there for the time being, so now is the time to get off of the sidelines, not later.
2. Make a payoff plan before you make the purchase.
   Some of the best investors around the world say that “you don’t make your money on the sell, you make it on the buy.” This means that those with a plan to get out are the ones that make the profit.
   If you are looking for a short term gain, make sure that you have someone to sell to before you buy. If you are holding the house for a while, check the long term trends of the houses in that neighborhood. Your house will most likely resemble those prices over the long term.
3. Take extra time to look over the foreclosures and short sales in the market.
   The prices that you see in public are not the going market rates. If you look at the rolls of houses that the banks are trying to get rid of, you can get yourself much better deals than going through a real estate agent who is still looking to profit off of you.