1. Tip 1: Get Your Financing Figured Out
2. Tip 2: Use a Real Estate Agent
3. Tip 3: Start Early
4. Tip 4: Move Up in the Down Market
5. Tip 5: Know Your Criteria
6. Tip 6: Understand DOM and $/SF
7. Tip 7: Know Where to Find the Best Deals in the Raleigh Area
8. Tip 8: Understand Short Sales and Foreclosures
9. Tip 9: Understand How to Determine the True Value of a Property
10. Tip 10: Ask Two Key Questions in a Competitive Situation
11. Tip 11: Walk the Neighborhood Before Making an Offer

Tip #4
Tip 4: Move Up in the Down Market

This is the most profitable time in the history of the Raleigh area to sell your current home and purchase a more expensive home. Here is a simplified example: Let’s assume the average price of a home in the Raleigh area has dropped 10% over the past 18 months. So if you own a home that would have been worth $200,000 in a normal market, you may only get $180,000 for it now, or $20,000 less than you hoped. However, you should be able to purchase your next home at a 10% discount also, so you get a $400,000 home for $360,000, which is a $40,000 savings. In total, you took a $20,000 loss and earned a $40,000 gain, and ended up with a $20,000 profit. It gets better, though. In reality, the lower-priced homes depreciated less than the higher-priced homes. So if your $200,000 home only depreciated 5%, but the $400,000 home depreciated 15%, then you would lose $10,000 on your current home and gain $60,000 on your next home, for a $50,000 profit! Compare this to moving up in a strong market, when any appreciation on your lower-priced home is wiped out by the price increase of your next home. You are actually taking a loss on the transaction. Keep in mind that getting a bargain on the higher-priced home does not necessarily mean negotiating a big reduction off the list (or “asking”) price, because the list price may have already been adjusted downward to the right price.

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