It may seem like finding a rental property to purchase during the holiday season may be a hassle. To some extent it may be a little more difficult, but that is exactly why it is a prime time to find a deal!
1. Less Competition
During the holidays season the buying competition dies down as people get busy and distracted with all that comes with it.
This means less people putting in offers to rival yours, which has a couple benefits. First, the likelihood of price being driven up is goes down with less people making offers. Second, the confidence of the seller to make aggressive counter offers goes down as there is not as much interest.
2. Homes are Priced to Sell
For the most part sellers don’t want to sell in the holiday season, if they could wait for a better time they likely would. Meaning they may be a motivated seller and thus have priced the home to get rid of it in a reasonable amount of time.
The pressures of carrying the cost of a home during the holiday season is motivation to move the property as fast as possible.
Remember, things happen in life that cause the need to sell a property. Say for example a divorce and the proceeds of the home are part of the settlement. The sellers usually want to conclude that as soon as possible and rather sell now for a little less than wait months for a little extra cash.
3. Better Service from Realtors, Lenders etc.
With less active people in the market during the holidays the service providers have a smaller pool of clients they are handling, thus more attention to your search and your deal. Holidays can be expensive and service providers are motivated to make dollars during that time.
Real Life Application
The last property I purchased I went under contract the week in between Christmas and New Year’s for what I thought was a pretty good deal given the normal state of my local market, which is aggressive to say the least.
If you enjoy my posts and property investing tips, then you will love the new book:
ScaredyCatGuide – Investing in Rental Properties
I literally walk you step-by-step through finding, buying and renting out a rental property. The book is your personal mentor!