John, we made a "shopping trip" to PS in March. Our experience may prove useful.
Prior to leaving Edmonton, we had identified 25 listings in the valley that were in our price range and met our needs. The agent we are working with and I scoured listings via the web to come up with the list. He was particularly helpful in warning us of areas that were high-crime, rated low for appreciation or were in the flight path of the airport, for example.
Once there my husband and I drove to the various communities in which the listings were located. Some we took off the list right away if we weren't impressed with the condition of the complex, or the location. For example, we found that if the gates of the "gated" community swung open for us regardless of the fact we weren't residents, invariably the complex was in less than suitable condition.
The next day we met with our agent and told him which were off the list, before driving around with him to view those that remained. We narrowed down our search to one community, then one unit within the community and put in an offer on a short sale. The lender accepted it, asked us to deposit the cheque to open escrow, but before we could do that later that day, our agent was told the lender had decided to foreclose.
We found very few "regular resales." Our agent said that was because agents were advising sellers that if they didn't have to sell to hold off because the market was flooded with short sales and REOs lowering the overall market prices. Our experience with short sales says to us that you have to know everything about the owner's situation: amount owed (on one or more mortgages), has he/she received a Notice of Default, how much is the client in default, when was the NOD sent, the seller's resources if the bank wants him/her to top up a short sale offer, who the lender is and what has proven to be their response to short sales.
We are still looking but mostly in a waiting pattern until fall since many of the listings we're interested in in this community are short sales still. My own opinion is that an REO is the best way to go, because the decision making process seems more straightforward and faster.
To my mind, advance preparation and getting as many facts about a listing that interests you is valuable, regardless of the process. And I agree that finding the community you want is the most important thing, particularly if it's a unit you plan to occupy yourself, and not just rent out. - Sun Apr 27 2008, 15:23