hat areas interest them. Then they look for homes that are priced at or below market value. They drive around searching out this perfect house in their well researched area, calling all the numbers on all the signs in all the yards. While they are out looking they probably stop at every grocery store they pass to purchase whatever is one sale so they can save a buck like our rump roast guy.

In other words, they run themselves to death to try to save a few

On a recent trip to the grocery store I was behind a man who argued with the clerk over the price of a roast he was attempting to buy. It was late at night, everyone in the line was tired and ready to go home, and the clerk and his manager argued with the man until things almost erupted into a fistfight.

His claim was that the price the meat was ringing up for was not the price in the ad.

"I came here specifically to buy this roast," the man screamed, "and I want it for the advertised price."

After all sorts of drama, I finally offered to pay the difference so the guy would get the heck out of the line. Disgusted, he stomped off without his rump roast.

Had this man gotten his meat for the price he had driven across town for, he would have saved under $2.00. Now, even the most fuel efficient vehicle would make a trip across town to save that amount seem stupid.
Not to mention the time that would go into researching the price of different grocery items at various stores. But people do this all the time!

Now, it comes time for people to make the most important investment of their lives- the purchase of their home. That should take some research, wouldn't you agree? Of course, you'll want to look up some information on the school district and their scores, how close the home is to shopping or entertainment, what kinds of parks or sports arenas are nearby, how accessible the house is to the highway, etc.

The number on thing you would want to know is how much your neighbors-to-be paid for their homes. If you were looking for a three bedroom two bath ranch you would want to see what other ranches with those same specs have sold for around your subject home lately.

Well, there are some people who do all this work and research themselves. They go online or make some phone calls and determine what areas interest them. Then they look for homes that are priced at or below market value. They drive around searching out this perfect house in their well researched area, calling all the numbers on all the signs in all the yards. While they are out looking they probably stop at every grocery store they pass to purchase whatever is one sale so they can save a buck like our rump roast guy.

In other words, they run themselves to death to try to save a few d

d, "and I want it for the advertised price."

After all sorts of drama, I finally offered to pay the difference so the guy would get the heck out of the line. Disgusted, he stomped off without his rump roast.

Had this man gotten his meat for the price he had driven across town for, he would have saved under $2.00. Now, even the most fuel efficient vehicle would make a trip across town to save that amount seem stupid.
Not to mention the time that would go into researching the price of different grocery items at various stores. But people do this all the time!

Now, it comes time for people to make the most important investment of their lives- the purchase of their home. That should take some research, wouldn't you agree? Of course, you'll want to look up some information on the school district and their scores, how close the home is to shopping or entertainment, what kinds of parks or sports arenas are nearby, how accessible the house is to the highway, etc.

The number on thing you would want to know is how much your neighbors-to-be paid for their homes. If you were looking for a three bedroom two bath ranch you would want to see what other ranches with those same specs have sold for around your subject home lately.

Well, there are some people who do all this work and research themselves. They go online or make some phone calls and determine what areas interest them. Then they look for homes that are priced at or below market value. They drive around searching out this perfect house in their well researched area, calling all the numbers on all the signs in all the yards. While they are out looking they probably stop at every grocery store they pass to purchase whatever is one sale so they can save a buck like our rump roast guy.

In other words, they run themselves to death to try to save a few

t would go into researching the price of different grocery items at various stores. But people do this all the time!

Now, it comes time for people to make the most important investment of their lives- the purchase of their home. That should take some research, wouldn't you agree? Of course, you'll want to look up some information on the school district and their scores, how close the home is to shopping or entertainment, what kinds of parks or sports arenas are nearby, how accessible the house is to the highway, etc.

The number on thing you would want to know is how much your neighbors-to-be paid for their homes. If you were looking for a three bedroom two bath ranch you would want to see what other ranches with those same specs have sold for around your subject home lately.

Well, there are some people who do all this work and research themselves. They go online or make some phone calls and determine what areas interest them. Then they look for homes that are priced at or below market value. They drive around searching out this perfect house in their well researched area, calling all the numbers on all the signs in all the yards. While they are out looking they probably stop at every grocery store they pass to purchase whatever is one sale so they can save a buck like our rump roast guy.

In other words, they run themselves to death to try to save a few

s are nearby, how accessible the house is to the highway, etc.

The number on thing you would want to know is how much your neighbors-to-be paid for their homes. If you were looking for a three bedroom two bath ranch you would want to see what other ranches with those same specs have sold for around your subject home lately.

Well, there are some people who do all this work and research themselves. They go online or make some phone calls and determine what areas interest them. Then they look for homes that are priced at or below market value. They drive around searching out this perfect house in their well researched area, calling all the numbers on all the signs in all the yards. While they are out looking they probably stop at every grocery store they pass to purchase whatever is one sale so they can save a buck like our rump roast guy.

In other words, they run themselves to death to try to save a few

hat areas interest them. Then they look for homes that are priced at or below market value. They drive around searching out this perfect house in their well researched area, calling all the numbers on all the signs in all the yards. While they are out looking they probably stop at every grocery store they pass to purchase whatever is one sale so they can save a buck like our rump roast guy.

In other words, they run themselves to death to try to save a few dollars. It doesn't matter whether they actually save or not, all that matters is that they feel like they got a bargain.
And then there are the smart buyers, the ones that know this....

1. The listing agent already has a relationship with the seller of the home you are calling on the sign about. They met that seller long before you ever happened by their sign. They want to sell you that house because that is what the seller has hired them to do. Despite all the ethical and legal requirements that agents are bound by, we are all human and it's human nature to feel loyalty to those we have an existing relationship with.

2. Your agent's job is to find homes that match what you're looking for. The majority of the homes you want to know about are on the Multiple Listing Service used by agents to see what is listed by all the companies who are signed up in the area. If you have email your agent can set you up with an automated search so you can see the new listings as soon as they come out. This will free up your Saturday afternoon of driving around and calling every sign you see trying to determine prices of homes- with that system you will already know.

3. A good agent will be able to tell you what neighborhoods are generally in your price range in your city of choice. I have people who call on $130,000 listings to ask the price and then tell me that their price range is up to $60,000. This caller goes immediately into my "head in the clouds file." After about a week of looking through homes you should know what areas are in your comfort zone and which ones you can dream about moving up to later when you cash out the equity in the smart purchase you are getting ready to make.

4. Do not assume that a "For Sale By Owner" house is a bargain. It might be, just like a listed home might be, but I have see