Debt Free

Your house - Unless you’ve got a really sweet Ferrari, your house is probably your largest investment and expense. How can you save money when buying your next house? Here are a few strategies you can use to either get more home on your budget or lower your house budget and still get the same size and quality home.

Home Money Saving Strategy #1
Buy a home in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure. When the bank owns a property they want to unload it ASAP. Real estate isn’t their business and holding the property costs them money. You can find a realtor that works with foreclosures or search for pre-foreclosures on your own.

Another great place to find foreclosures is through HUD. The Department of Housing and Urban Development sells foreclosed FHA homes at auction. Don’t get all excited about buying your dream 5 bedroom home on the lake for $150,000.

It doesn’t work that way. Homes are auctioned at market value. There are times however, where you can save money by purchasing your home that way. HUD home auctions are sealed bid affairs. Your real estate agent can submit a bid for you if you find a property that fits your needs. You can also check RealtyTrac. They're the nation's largest foreclosure service. They are the providers for the foreclosure data you see on the Wall Stree Journal Online, Yahoo Finance and MSN Money. They have a free trial, so you can sign up and check for foreclosures in your area.

Home Money Saving Strategy #2
Build it yourself. You can save money this way, but be aware that building a house isn’t like building those Revel model cars you built when you were 12. Even if you use one of the services that walk you through the process, there are never ending decisions that must be made. On a larger home design and project meetings are almost a full time job you need to be prepared for.

In addition, you may not save as much money as you think. Established contractors, especially the very good ones, will use their expertise and relationships to save you money. You will pay a premium for their services, but that may be offset in a large part by the money savings they can get you from their preferred vendors and the great speed with which they complete your project. Watch out for how they do their billing, however. Some builders bill you a fairly small fee for their services, but nail you with high markups for any upgrades or additions. Be aware of any of this going in.

Home Money Saving Strategy #3
Negotiate! – Don’t forget to ask. In many cases you can get the lender or broker to waive or reduce some of your closing costs. You should also try to find out as much as you can about why the home is being sold. In most cases this won’t be easy, but it can pay big dividends. In any negotiation information is vital. The more you have, the better position you’ll be in to make yourself a great deal. You may be able to make (and get accepted) a better offer than you could have hoped.

Home Money Saving Strategy #4
Buy as is.  This means that you’ll get stuck with any fixes or repairs the property may need. In some cases you can get a greater discount than just the value of the repairs. This is the case when the seller can’t or won’t take care of the repairs themselves. You’ll also benefit due to the increased risk you’re undertaking.