opportunities, you may want to give pre-foreclosure properties a look. Those properties in pre-foreclosure are at risk of being taken from the owners because of delinquency. You can obtain a list of potential pre-foreclosures from any lender, or you can advertise that you buy homes for cash. Find the person who is presently paying the loan and bid several thousand above their payoff, if it fits the market value. This will be a great bargain for you, since most do not owe the house's full market value. Take your time to carefully measure a home you are highly interested in buying. You want to make sure the square footage that the owner listed actually matches up with public records. If the two sums aren't as close as 100 square feet from each other, then you need to find out who's mistake it is, yours or theirs. You need to make sure you know about the housing market locally. Check websites including City-data.com to find out about foreclosed homes, median selling prices, housing backlogs and the average time on the market for homes in your Zip code. Other things you may want to investigate are local unemployment rates, income levels and schools. A good location with good products can put you on top even if the trends are down. The asking price should be just a guideline. If your offer is logical and well-researched, you might be surprised by how much you can save. If you haggle with the seller a