Short sale home deals are closing and good deals can be had by buyers. We just successfully closed escrow on 4536 Laird Circle, a Park Plan 3 town home. The unit was nicely upgraded and sold for $640K. Comparable units are being sold close to $680K in that area.

Will little inventory in Rivermark even these short sales are getting quite a bit of attention. The key to closing these deals is just persistence, as lenders are motivated to get these deals done but are bogged down by the volume of short sales and policies designed to prevent fraud.

As a buyer of a short sale home you need to understand that that typically these transactions take time and may end up not getting approved. The latter is not as likely some want you to think. Every short sale I have been involved with has been approved.  Mainly because the buyer and seller were motivated to make it happen. The bank would create conditions where the buyer or seller would need to bring in some additional funds, and generally something would be negotiated.

The key to having a successful short sale is understanding the motivation of all the parties involved. The seller is motivated to avoid foreclosure. The lender is motivated to also avoid foreclosure. The short sale negotiator is motivated to get these deals closed and get as much money as they can to mitigate the loss. Simply, buyer is motivated to get a good deal. If the buyer isn’t getting a good enough deal for all the hassle and uncertainty then the buyer will move on to the next home.

So often I see short sale deals where there will be multiple offers and the seller will take the highest offer, just to have the deal fall apart a few weeks or months later because the buyer found a better deal or felt it was no longer worth the hassle.

As a buyer sometimes the best deals are when these deals fall through and you are there to jump in as the buyer, for that you need to move fast and have an agent who can inform you as soon as possible.