To get the best deal when you buy a house, spend some time prowling around!  Prowl the internet, prowl the neighborhoods, prowl each house.

Ahhh . . .  now the real fun begins! But hitting the road and viewing houses can be time-consuming with so many out there.  So let's break it down.

First, prowl the internet!

It's said that 90% of all home buyers start their search on the internet.  Search sites are more than abundant, but with most you have to input your search options every time you get online. And any number of real estate agents get your contact info, possibly creating gridlock in your inbox or answering machine. I have a great site where you can avoid all that -

Allow me to introduce you to the free Home Buyer's Scouting Report.  My clients love it, whether they're months away from getting serious or wanting to move asap. It's actually your own password-protected web site, where you can set up one search or several. You're notified daily of new listings, and you can save favorites to a notebook. The system notifies you of changes to the ones in the notebook, such as a price drop or going under contract. That way, you can keep an eye on the market, and see which houses are going fast, and which seem to hang out longer. You'd have a great feel for the market before you even burn a drop of gas! With this site, you'll get all the info you could possibly want, without having to contact several real estate agents. You can easily write yourself or anyone else a note, and the system tracks it all. You can click a button to ask me questions if you ever want to.

It's easy to get started and you'll receive some listings right away, and some tutorial emails. You'll also be contacted by my partner, Christine Jensen, who'll give you your password and even walk you through the site. And it's all free! Just click here: Start prowling the internet now with the most user-friendly site I’ve found.

It's true that I'll probably contact you, because I just can't help but believe that everyone who's even just thinking about buying a house wants the best help any real estate agent can give. But if you don't want any calls or emails just let me know and I'll respect your wishes.

Other sites include www.Realtor.com and www.REColorado.com.  All real estate agents' listings get downloaded to these sites automatically.  They might be a couple of days behind, but they're a good anonymous way to get your toes wet.

Then prowl the neighborhoods - For some people, the neighborhood is the most important thing.  Some like a 'hip, trendy' feel, some want the best schools, some are interested in being able to walk to stores and parks.  So drive around, *visit open houses, talk to neighbors, check it out at different times of day.  Research crime, traffic accidents, schools.  Do you like homeowner associations (HOAs), or hate them?  If there is an HOA, get on their website.  Their newsletters and calendar of events can tell you a lot about life in the neighborhood. If you're looking for investment property, check out how much others are getting for rent.

Or, find a real estate agent who's familiar with the area and tell them what's most important to you. Let them do the leg work.

*Don't forget that the agents at open houses are working for the seller, not you. Be careful what you tell them.

Either way, if you narrow your search to a few neighborhoods you'll save a lot of time. After all, how great is any deal if you end up too far from work, or your kids have to change schools, or your ex-spouse lives next door?

Finally, prowl the houses.

It won't take long to come with a list of houses to go see.  Keep good records.  It's easy to get them all mixed up in your head. Rate each house, and take notes.  Most you'll be able to eliminate immediately.  Try to keep only two or three contenders at a time.  If you add a new favorite, eliminate one of the others.

When you're ready to make an offer you'll need to consider current and historical absorption rate, days on market, percent of distressed sales, and how long the particular house has been listed.  Make an aggressive offer, but not one that's so low the seller will find it ridiculous and offensive. The lower your offer is, the more important it is to sweeten it in some other way.  (Read my previous Buy a House in Colorado post for more on that.)  

In my area, most sales close at about 97% of the price they were listed at.  That means, most don't sell if they're listed too high, only when the price is lowered to where it should be.  So if you find one that's simply listed too high, and you want to be the first offer on the table when the seller realizes he needs to come down, write an offer. Stipulate that the offer is good until you rescind it. Get it in front of the seller, with a condition that allows you to keep looking and make other offers, of course.

Read the last post on Buy a House in Colorado and Get the Best Deal.

Read Buy a House in Colorado and Get the Best Deal from the beginning.

I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the 'flavor' of our community, in case they're new or moving to the Denver area.

I am a residential real estate agent, happily helping folks buy a house or sell a house in the beautiful and friendly suburbs northwest of Denver.

Read more about life in Arvada Colorado, between Denver and Boulder.

Check out my website.

Find all the homes available in Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, North Denver, Thornton, Lafayette, Louisville, Wheat Ridge and Golden.