How do I find off-market homes in the Bay Area?

By Alessandra Imanabadi · Nationwide Fine Homes

First, decide what you hope “off-market” will give you: an earlier look, less competition or a better price. Those are three different things.

A home can be available privately and still be expensive. It can also be publicly listed and offer excellent value.

The label does not answer the pricing question.

An attractive story is not a comparable sale

Consider an investor who buys below market, then offers the property to another buyer at a higher price. There may still be room for a worthwhile purchase. But the first buyer’s discount does not automatically become yours.

Understand who owns the property, who represents whom, what is being sold and whether the proposed deadline leaves enough time to investigate.

I have seen excitement outrun the numbers

After 2011, clients asked us to focus on foreclosures. Among the properties we examined, many were priced above the comparable sales. The foreclosure label had attracted attention the price did not justify.

More recently, an investor brought me more than 15 off-market properties over three meetings. Each seemed to require an immediate decision. None held up against our comparison with relevant sales.

He had found many opportunities to buy. That was different from finding a good investment.

Early access can still be valuable

Through professional relationships, an agent may learn about homes being prepared for sale or privately offered, subject to the seller’s instructions and applicable marketing rules.

That can give you time to understand a property. It does not give anyone access to every unlisted home, and it does not establish a bargain.

We have also had purchases appraise $100,000 or more above the agreed price. Those were individual outcomes—not a promise of instant profit or proof of what a future buyer would pay.

You are buying the block as well as the home

Those off-market properties had details the presentation had not brought forward: proximity to a bridge or freeway, neighboring properties, or storage and industrial buildings across the street. Looking at the surroundings and comparable sales changed the picture. The prices did not stand up to that review.

You can improve a kitchen. You cannot move the freeway or choose what operates across the street. The approach, surrounding homes and neighboring uses become part of your ownership—and part of the next buyer’s decision.

That is what I want an opportunity to withstand: a close look at what it leaves out, not simply an attractive description of what it includes.

Look for the opportunity behind the description

If someone has presented you with an off-market opportunity, that can be our starting point. We can examine the price, condition and surroundings before you decide whether it deserves your attention. You should have room to consider both the property and the guidance you are receiving.

Alessandra Imanabadi
Co-Founder · Real Estate Advisor · Licensed Broker
Nationwide Fine Homes

510-504-2528
alessandra@123nationwide.com
nationwidefinehomes.com

California DRE #01390368 · NMLS #328245

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