BUYING AT THE BOTTOM: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW, Part 2

II.  Insider Tips to Spot the Seller Ready to Take a Low Bid

 Check the closets.  See if the wife's or husband's clothes are no longer there.

 Check the tax records.  Find out how much the seller owes.  You can get the records at the county clerk's office, and in some municipalities the town records are online.

 Look for give-away words.  In advertising words like "bring offer" or "drastically reduced" mean exactly that.

 Ask your agent to pull the listing history on the house.  It includes how many times the home has been listed and what the price reductions have been.

 Let the seller talk!  If the seller is home at the showing, let them talk.  Often they'll say more than they should like, "We close on our new home next month."