The short sale is best if the bank can get as much as they would have with a foreclosure. A good short sale agent and negotiator can make this happen. I am over 90 % success rate on the short sales I have handled and so a short sale is the best way to go usually.

Having said that you are going to have to pay a fair price for the property....meaning at the very low end of what it is worth.

Best of luck and let me know if I can help.

Thanks;

Dirk Knudsen
Re/Max Hall of Fame
503-799-8383

What is better for the bank is usually the short sale. But more importantly it's better for the buyer to have a short sale versus a foreclosure on their credit history. In a declining market, by the time the bank processes the foreclosure time has passed. And likely value has been lost. Then the bank has to hire and pay a Realtor, secure the property including insuring it and arranging for utilities (and in some cases repairs). They then sell it at a foreclosure price and bear all the expenses of the sale including real estate commission and closing costs. There are cases where it just doesn't make sense for the bank if the price is too low but it's definitely worth a try if you have a professional agent (and have consulted an attorney) to guide you through the process.

If the value is there, right now most of the time the values are too low to do much for the short sale so homes are going back to the bank when the owners find out they really get no where with the short sale process, most times no offer comes in. You as a buyer of a short sale, might win out, but if the value of the home is too low, the short sale will not fly. Good luck.

Hello Sam,
It is almost always better for the home owner to negotiate with his lender to try to sell his home as a short sale. This way the lender is able to recoup some of the monies owed and the homeowner's credit is not destroyed. The Federal Government is encouraging the banks/lenders by giving them incentives to work with home owners that are in distress to sell short to avoid foreclosure. The banks don't like having to take care of the properties they own by paying for the utilities, spending money on repairs, and pay out taxes when they're due. That is why some foreclosed properties have no utilities turned on and are being sold "as is".
I hope this is helpful to you.
Laura Feghali

Prudential Connecticut Realty
203-536-4802
laurafeghali@prudentialct.com