Buying Houses That Are Not For Sale: Just Ask.

A great way to get a smoking deal on a fixer upper property is to buy one that is not listed for sale! Often times people are willing to part with properties (or old cars / trucks etc...) but they never get around to actually listing them for sale.

There was an old house that had sat vacant for several years near the town where I grew up, in Idaho. When I was 21, I decided I wanted to buy it, so I went to the court house with the address to find out who the owner was (its public record). I called the owner, and asked if he would sell it, for... I think I offered $6000 or $8000. He countered at $10,000 and I bought it, and fixed it up. He told me he had inherited it from his family, and was just going to tear it down but was always too busy. Below is a before, during, and after shot of that house.

Needless to say, this method of buying things doesn't always work. I've been told told flat out NO plenty of times, although people are usually nice about it. Sometimes the owner will say, yes but... and then you find out a reason why they cant sell it, like, it has a lien on it, or its owned by multiple family members who don’t get along, etc.. , but even those cases can be good, because when they do become ready to sell, they just might come to you first.