Tips from Michael Corbett 'Before You Buy' Your New Home!

"Now that we are near the bottom of the market, it's the perfect storm of buying opportunity -- great low prices, lots of choices, low interest rates," explains Corbett.

As one of his tips, Corbett says look for homes with a "battered history," such as:

--If the property has only just been listed and put on the market, the seller will likely still be hopeful of receiving a full-price offer. If it's been languishing on the market for three or more months, this listing is growing stale fast and the owners will very likely be ready to deal.

--If a house has had series of price reductions over the past few weeks or months, the realtor and the seller are struggling to find the bottom line price tag. This is house that wants to be sold. Jump on it.

--If a house has just fallen out of escrow, meaning the house was under contract for sale but for some reason the deal didn't come together, the seller will be feeling burnt and frustrated and ready to just get this house off his hands.

--Look for sellers on a desperate time line. Divorce, death in the family, job loss or relocation, facing foreclosure, advanced age or illness, purchase of another house are all motivating factors to sell quickly. As heart-wrenching as they can be, these life-stage, personal, financial, or event-driven factors make a seller highly motivated and give you leverage to snag a great deal.

Take a look at more celebrity books!

For more tips and guidelines, check out Corbett's book "Before You Buy!" on Amazon.com.

You can also enter here for "Extra's" giveaway of "Before You Buy!"