The recent troubles with Fannie Mae means the prices are far more negotiable then they were before. http://www.foreclosuresUS.com

The first part of your question was:

"How do I get more info on a pre-foreclosure home"

What you need to do is contact your local foreclosure expert. He/She should be able to provide you with any and all information available. I am the foreclosure expert in my area of Seattle, Washington and myself and my company collect and track data on all the properties going to foreclosure auction. Most of these homes are NOT listed and you WILL NOT find them listed on traditional sites. We also help our clients buy these properties either at the weekly foreclosure auctions or we negotiate a short sale before the auction. If the auction date has passed we can still obtain the property in many cases directly from the bank.

Harley "Foreclosure Guy" Dufek
206-919-5086

It has to be a realistic price: First, get a Broker Price Opinion analysis (BPO) including Actives,Pending and Sold listings (Sold not older than 6 months) that will give you: a Median Market Price, then offer what you feel the price is worth based on the condition of the house and the comps. (-10%-15%) or if it is a desirable listings (-10%), if it is in a more established zone ,not so much in declining (if you are getting new financing your mortgage broker will inform you ) then offer (-5% if you consider is something that you really like and superior to other properties on the market). Keep in mind every situation is different and if you are guided for a patient experienced realtor (short sales) will help. If the listed price is significant lower than the market price then ask l isting agent why? before to make an offer.

WIth the recent decision not to "buy back" bad mortgages the prices should be much more negotiable.
http://www.foreclosuresUS.com

I can't believe that the Lead for this questioned stated:, & I Quote:
* Avoid pre-stage * -The pre-foreclosure/short sales stage is typically not the most profitable. You could wait weeks or even months for an answer from the lender. Find out what one buyer learns about foreclosure prices.
That is SOOOoooooo Wrong.... Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sales are the BEST place to get a deal. Once it is foreclosed, The BANKS and Attorneys have Eatin' Aeway any and all margin on the property.
Get yourself an Experienced and agressive agent who not only Knows the Shprt Sale process but 1 who has been sucessful at doing them. A Great Realtor will be able to get the deal done AND in 6-8 weeks . When you hear that it takes longer and is a headache, That's becuse the agent doesn't know how to work the system.
DEALS ABOUND with short sales.... Don't let ANYONE tell you otherwise. True, It's a TON of work for the agent but a good agent has learned how to streamline it and should be working in the Clients ( That's YOU" interest

I believe that all prices are negotiable. As well you are only as good as the people who you choose to represent you. There are many realtors,brokers,attorneys etc who claim they are well versed at short sales, foreclousre, bankruptcy , etc and are not. Short Sales do take a lot of time however they are worth it. I have been servicing mortgages for over 10 years. It is a matter of knowing your business and being able to follow through. As well I feel a need to mention that a short sale is where a lien holder agrees to release their lien for less then what is owed. Everything goes by what the property is worth not what is owed. If you can understand that then you are ahead of most investors. Contact info Thenegotiator@qwest.net

Am currently going through the short sale process right now. I believe that there are some very good deals available through the short sale process, but you must have time, have patience, must get inspections, and must be pre approved. I set an deadline with myself, 4 weeks. If I don't here back by then I move on. My realtor keeps me posted twice a week and assisted in putting in clauses that would protect me should something about the house turn out to be a show stopper. Keep in mind it may not be the best deal. Some homeowners have more wiggle room because they purchased before the "boom". Your opportunity cost on a short sale may be missing a great deal on a conventional sale. Do the analysis and weigh the pros and cons, then go for it.

Hi David, I am a Realtor on Marco Island, Fl. Pricing on short sales are what you think you will be
willing to pay for the property, same as any other property you are looking at. Difference is that you will have to wait in one case with Countrywide 4 month and NO answer, not even any contact with the bank, no way to contact them as a Realtor and owners are not getting anycooperation either. My first two short sales with another bank were a piece of cake compared what is happening with Countrywide. After this transaction I will not deal with any other short sales or preforeclosures. Difference is that many of those properties were bought at the heigth of the market and they are really not the great bargain many buyers think they are. You can buy a property from an owner who has owned the property for 5+ years and they can afford to seel it, still make a smaller profit and get back to you within 24-48 hours to accept the offer. If you cann finf a property you like as much as the short sale go for the other property. By the time you wait for the bank to give you an answer you might loose other well priced properties. Until banks learn to work with Realtors in a timely fashion this housing crisis will go on for a long time. More and more Realtors here are saying "we will not get involved in short sales". I think our government need to intervene and make banks more responsive to this situation , after all they take big tax write offs for their losses but do not want to work with the buyers which are also taxpayers and are underwriting the mistakes the banks have caused.

As a matter of principle,foreclosed homes are not a good buy ....imagine the misery and karma in the building.
Someone who desperately tried to hold on to thier house was forced out because the service provider only really starts to make money when a home is foreclosed on,that is when they start charging interest on interest and make it impossible for the owner to get back on track.....the banks do not own the loan they will have sold it on and will simply be the mortgage service provider.
The huge problem with foreclosures is they are unethical and the person that buys them is unethical...that bad luck will come back.Think about it you have a hand in the misery that the banks are currently causing.

We went in at 82% of the list price on a short sale in Arizona. I felt the selling price was high to start with and the place showed badly given the clutter and mess ....obviously the owner wasnt very motivated. It took about 6 weeks to get acceptance from the lender on our one and only offer. The only negative was once the bank said yes they gave us a relatively small period to close.. about 14 days which was tough as I was out of the country. We asked to bump the close date another two weeks but the agents strongly discouraged going back to the lenders......suggesting it was a deal killer. Whether that was true or whether the agents just wanted to seal the file I guess I will never know. We did get the chance to have an inspection before the deal was final which was critical for us. Short sales are a great way to buy if you know the market and can have a professional check out the property, and if you have lots of time on your hands. I would always offer very very agressively to make up for the fact that the lenders have such a long time frame to accept, reject, or counter. I assume it is because it has to go to several levels for sign off. I dont understand why banks can approve huge loans in a matter of days but when it comes to writing off 40 or 50k it takes two months.

Run from pre-foreclosure homes unless you have tons of time to wait! Here's another little "trick" I fell into. The house we wanted was listed high, at EXACTLY what it would have taken to satisfy the bank with $0 to the seller and even a reduced commission to the seller's agent. So, there was nothing about it being a pre-foreclosure (short) sale in the listing. We offered $30,000 below the asking price of $315k and it was accepted...but that put it into the Short Sale category and, after waiting for Saxon Bank to respond to our offer for 5 weeks after they received all required documentation from the seller/builder, they finally told the escrow company that it would be at least another 5 weeks before they would make a decision (whether or not to forgive $25,500 needed). We walked away at that point and found a better deal.

I say all that to note that they have now returned the house to the market with the very same tactic: listed at a too-high price that prevents them from having to disclose up front that it is a short sale, hoping to get someone else to love the house and then wait. We passed up looking at ALL (identified) short sale listings as the banks just do not seem to be in a hurry to deal with a live buyer...Saxon, it appears, would rather just go thru the foreclosure process. The escrow company reported they were just plain rude to them when they were trying to get an idea as to when escrow could proceed.

Contacting your local real estate professional is the first key player in determing your price. As to see what sold prices are currently showing and stay within 3 month range. We are not in a sturdy market. The price you see generally is not what you will pay. Statistic now show that for every short sale price you see, it is a known fact that the buyer will ultimately submit a lower price. In turn, the lenders will never pay any cost and it will forstale lenders decision. If buyers purchase prices are lower than market asking price, then why wouldn't the banks start buying the properties back themselves? If you really want to get a fantastic deal working with a short sale, you must be willing to pay your own cost, have at least 3% down payment and loan approval prior to submitting any offer. Keep your loan approval current at all times and be prepared to wait. At this point of your offer, "patiences is virtue" Most buyers will give up and then start all over again with a new offer somewhere else. You must understand going into the pre-foreclosure purchase arena you must be willing to stick it out and not give up. Always work with a Realtor that will keep you informed at leasst on a weekly basis. If you are looking for a full time professional realtor and wanting additional information, please feel free to contact me directly.

Your Real Estate Professional for Life!
Julie Moore
Tarbell Realtors
(951) 326-4888
jmoorerealtor@tarbell.com

No, many times the will accept a lower price. They will probably counter offer, but bid only what you think it is worth. If you are turned down,they may come back later and renegotiate. (it has happened to me)

Not likely, most pre-foreclosures (80%+) never make it to foreclosure, and even then, the data provided by the national real estate foreclosure tracking firms are not exact.

David, glad to see that you are considering the value that a preforeclosure home can bring you. There are a lot of things to consider when buying a home in preforeclosure. Hopefully, the Realtor who has listed the home for sale is knowledgeable in short sales which would be critical to the success of your purchase. A Realtor representing you could assist in offsetting any inadequancies of the Sellers Realtor if your Realtor is knowledgeable in short sales. The price you see listed isn't necessarily the price you will pay. The price you will pay will be at fair market value or somewhere below. This is due to the fact that the sales price will need to be approved by the Sellers lender and the Lender will want the fair market value. Does this make sense? If you have any other questions, please let me know and I would be glad to go over what you could expect with a short sale. Good luck with your search!

You would NEVER want to offer full price!

Keep in mind that pre-foreclosure does not always mean that you have to negotiate with the bank. It could simply mean the person is getting behind on their payments and has to sell. Usually, the process has started, but not always.

You can contact the agent directly or contact an agent that has experience with foreclosures and ask them to follow up for you. Either way, the agent is free for you.

There are benefits on both sides. Calling the agent direct cuts out the middlemen and you can get the info right from the source. Having a buyer's agent represent you guarantees that you have someone looking out for your best interests. They will know questions you may not know to ask and know how (and what) to dig out from the other agent. Plus, you have a middleman to negotiate points back and forth and you can play a little harder because you have the buffer.

The best way to get any information is to go directly to the source. I would encourage you to email the agent or call them directly to find out what the status is.
If you are working with an agent, have your agent call and get the details. Sometimes websites information is not current or up-to-date.

I hope this helps!

The Sanborn Team
Allison & Nancy

David,

I would encourage yo to go directly to the source to get first hand and current information. Contact the agent and request his/her input but remember once the bank becomes involved they establish what the final price will be. This can take time....regardless of dead lines, they move at their own snail-like pace.
In short, the posted price could actually be slightly higher or lower.

Good luck,

The "Eckler Team"
Century 21 Almar & Associates
Venice, Fl 34285