Zsa,Hard to tell,shortsales are hard to read,depends on agent who listed it(if they know what they are doing,as far as paperwork etc..) if there is a second,it may not matter if you have cash,it could go to sheriff sale.If you have time and what it,get a Realtor and and go through the motions.

TJ

Hello Zsaymeh,

The high amount of the earnest money check is a good start for the bank, but an approval letter from your lender that you can get the mortgage will also go a long way toward acceptance. What kind of repairs does the house need? A lender will want to know this before agreeing to the type of financing.

Without knowing which home you are bidding on, it is impossible for me to tell you what is a "reasonable" bid. There can be a big difference between "perfect" condition, and just having the updating done. It is not a 1 for 1 trade off in price/value.

Also, unless you have inside information, you don't know why the other bids were rejected. It may not have been price alone. Do you know what the bank's counter offer was to the higher bid? I would say that is your starting point. Offer the $185k (again) with your large downpayment, and see what they come back with.

Good Luck! call me if I can be of further assistance.

The lenders on this propertyy are going to want as close to market value as possible.An offer of $185k is only 74% of the sales price of this home.

If the fair market value is $250k with the needed $20k in updates, why not make an offer at $229k?