Real Estate - Can we talk short-sales?

[Smokin Gator]

I have purchased five or six short sales in the last 14-15 months. Much of what I could offer has already been said... but I want to reiterate one point... if you are under any kind of time restraints, as it sounds like you are, I would be very hesitant to get in on a short sale. The quickest one I had was about 6 weeks. The longest was almost 7 month. I would also strongly advise not to put ANY earnest money down until the bank has accepted all of the terms. What I usually do is put down 10-15 percent within 48 hours of the bank signing the short sale addendum. That much tends to get their attention. Also, if it is with Bank of America, Citimortgage, or Indy Mac I wouldn't even bother. They take forever and through endless roadblocks into the situation.

One very positive aspect of a short sale versus a foreclosure is at least you are pertty much guaranteed to get a clean title. Foreclosures, on the other hand, have gotten to be a real crap shoot. If you don't really know what to look for in the title history it can get ugly!!!