Buying Short Sales

Are you interested in buying a short sale home? You may have some questions.

• What is the lowest offer that you can submit to the bank?
  
• When will the bank respond to your offer?
  
• Can you get financing when making an offer?
• Are you allowed to have a home inspection prior to closing?
  
• What is a BPO?
  
• When can you dispose of the personal property items that was left behind after the closing?
  
• What are the anticipated repair costs?
  
• Are you buying the home at a discount or at the market price?
  

Only an experienced real estate agent who is familiar with the short sale process can answer these and the many other questions you may have in purchasing a short sale property.

Just because a home is listed as a short sale does not mean that you are getting a bargain. The previous owner may have purchased the home at an inflated price and the current listing agent priced the home relative to the loan balance rather than comparable properties that is currently on the market. Another common hurdle is when a home has two loans.  If the second loan is held by a different lender, you may have a problem in getting the short sale approved.

The most important criteria in choosing a real estate broker is find one who knows the local market.

If you find the right short sale home, do you have an agent who knows the local market? Without this local market knowledge, you may end up making an offer that will be quickly rejected or higher than needed.

Another factor to consider is what will the agent do once an offer has been made. Will he/she turn the file over to an attorney? Does your attorney have experience with short sales? Does your attorney have the patience to deal with the many players in making a short sale deal work? Will your attorney regularly follow up with the lender(s)?

For this and many more reasons, finding the right active agent who understands the local market and who has experience with manuevering through the short sale process is critical in not only finding the home but also to close on the home.

With the right agent, you may find your perfect dream home at a price that you never imagined was possible.