yes, short sale is Ok, but what is your idea for foreclosure homes. I am a real estate broker in Edgewater Nj and do specialize in foreclosure. If you want to buy foreclosure you have to have cash ready.

Your best bet is to buy the local paper and check out the legal notices. Also, there are auction notices online for Bergen County Sheriff's department. They list addresses and lien amounts. You COULD try to contact those owners/banks for a private sale prior to the auction date.

The BEST bet however is to talk to a REALTOR that specializes in your region (For Edgewater, someone with NJMLS subsciption). They can search the MLS for owner and bank listed short sales/pre-foreclosures/post-foreclosure listings. Also, understand those may not be the BEST deals out there. There are also homeowners who have owned their homes for many years and are not looking to squeeze every last penny since they are not "upside down" on their loans. Sometimes they are easier to deal with and you can get a good deal with them without the delays/headaches of short sales.

The other benefit of working with a Realtor of YOUR choice (as opposed to contacting the selling agent/broker yourself) is that you get an agent who represents YOU. A selling agent has no fiduciary duty to you and may not help you push for a better price. There is no cost to you to choose an agent on your own since the commissions are paid for by the sellers, but you get all the benefits of someone who's sole duty in the negotiations is to represent YOUR interest.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me more questions.

I have found that realtytrac.com does not update info regularly, and much of their information is misleading. I would recommend that you speak with a local realtor--in our association, we can actually now find the properties that are classified as short sale or foreclosure for a client. Remember that the prices that you see on realty trac are not really the prices those properties are going to sell for--the bank will buy them back on the courthouse steps and relist them on the open market with a real estate company.