Shopping around for land for sale near you can be daunting, especially when you don’t know much about the real estate market trends of the areas you’re searching in. Even if you know all about property value trends, finding a real estate deal that meets your budget isn’t always easy. To help alleviate the process, follow these simple tricks on how to find the best deals on land and other real estate properties near you.

Remember that the Early Bird Gets the Worm

When it comes to shopping around for real estate, it’s important to remember the age-old saying, the early bird gets the world. In other words, a homeowner with a house on the market is very likely to take the very first offer. It might not be the very best offer, but the first often will do just fine for most selling homeowners. These people don’t know what the future will hold, and if there will even be another offer, which is why the first one is often accepted. Unless of course, the offer price is significantly lower than the asking price.

Entrepreneur says that “if you are looking for a great deal, be quick about it! Get a pre-approval from a bank so you can jump at any property right away, and have your real estate agent set you up with automatic email alerts notifying you of any new property that hits the market. Then, don’t delay — check it out quickly, and make an offer the same day if possible.”

Try Approaching Home Owners Privately

There’s a new tactic among real estate investors that seems to be working. If you’re financially stable enough to purchase real estate in a hot market area, try approaching homeowners in the area, even if their houses aren’t on the market. Instead of waiting for a homeowner to sell and then competing with tons of potential buyers, ask a homeowner if selling is a possibility.

It’s important to give a homeowner all the information on why this is the best time to sell and what the potential benefits are. Of course, this tactic doesn’t always work. But you’d be surprised; recent studies show that out of every ten homeowners you contact, one is likely to be interested in selling (and actually do it).

Look Around for Bank Foreclosures

We all know what happens when a homeowner fails to pay back a bank mortgage loan; the bank forecloses on the property and takes back what is rightfully theirs. This is an unfortunate event for the homeowner, but you can’t expect a lender to allow a lendee to live in the property for free. The good news about the situation is that foreclosed properties are typically listed for a smoking deal.

This is often because the lender just wants to get the home back on the market. Banks aren’t in the industry of managing properties, which is why they don’t want anything to do with vacant property. Instead, they just want to sell it (or lend money for a mortgage). If you catch it at the right time, you might be able to find a sweet deal on a foreclosed property.