Since the south Florida RE market been on steep decline I have been looking for investment property I can afford to hold for a while.

I did not want to get into foreclosure, but there are many short sale properties out there.

The trouble is, as soon as I see a short sale property listed, and did my research (drive by, looking at county records, do some basic comps myself...) which usually take half a day and then I call the broker to arrange a viewing and possibly an offer, I call up the agent and 10 times out of 10 I get no answer,if I get their voice mail and ask them to call me back, I get no call back, if I get them in person usually they told me they have to check on it and get back with me with the appropriate date and time and they don't call. If I wait a day or two and call them again they told me it's been sold. I have this feeling in each case they were holding the listing for their "buddies" to buy and deter outside people. How do I break this barrier.

Another question is with all the backlog the bank has typically they don't get to the short sale offers for months. I know some can take a year! So in the mean time, what happens to the original sellers? Since their house is really not foreclosed on yet, and they are not paying, and the sale is pending subject to approval for a long time, do the sellers get to stay during this period? What happens once you submit an offer and the bank sits on it, three months later someone else submit another offer? Do both get considered? I assume the sale contract has to be structured differently, obviously one cannot put a closing date or any sort of contingency there?

WOW I really do not understand why you would not want to pursue foreclosures.Title is already clean and cleared and by the now the bank has had a non-performing assett for along time.They are looking to unload it for a good price.

The problem with short sales is a very small percentage fo them ever close.Assett managers can be handling hundreds of these at one time for the banks oe the servicing company who is managing the loans.YES the people would stay there the whole time not paying until foreclosure because the bank does not own the home and is just carrying a note UNTIL they foreclose and become the new owners if knowone bids there amount to purchase at the courthouse foreclosure sale.

In some states there are also post-redemption times the bank has to contend with where you don't want to do anything with the property as it can still be redeemed by the owner who got foreclosed on.

The assett manager has 2 classifications.Properties that are marketable to owner occupied and properties that need a cash investor because of condition or location issues.

Why would you want to be under contract for a certain price and wait 3 months to close and by then in a down market the value has fallen another 10 percent making your deal not that great?

Usually on short sales double ending doesn't make as much sense as if one broker is involved in the transaction many will only pay one fee of 3 percent because after all the bank is trying to achieve the highest net to themselves after all expenses not the highest price.

Example purchase price 300k with 40k in concessions(closing costs,commissions,etc. So net would be 260k to bank.

Another example:285k cash offer minus commissions equals 268k net to bank.So even though this is a lower offers it nets them more money.

This is also how HUD looks at offers for there properties.

With the short sale you will need to know about liens,everyone needed to sign on title,how many loans are involved,mortgage insurance if any,type of loans involved FHA,VA,Conventional Insured,Conventional Uninsured because each has it's own parameters and proceeses along with percentages they will take.

This is just the tip of the iceburg in short sales.For offers put a short timeline in there of 1 week.You know they won't have an answer by then but it gives you the power if they come back later to accept the offer or renegotiate if the market has changed since you offered on the property.

Pathfinder,

It is pretty sad how the agents won't call you back. They must be agents that don't want to hustle and make money. Many of them stay away from short sales too because they can be somewhat lengthy and many agents don't know enough about them. But for someone that knows about them, they can also be some great deals to purchase!

Send me a private message and I will set you up with an experienced agent in your area that WILL work with you. This referral will be free to you, so please take advantage of it. In your message, send me your name, your phone number, your price range and location of where you are trying to purchase in. I will then contact you with information to a great agent that will be more than happy to help you out. I have agent relationships all over the country that I have done referral business with, so I know that they will make sure they get the job done for you.

Unfortunately I am in Las Vegas, but I specialize in short sales. I typically list them, so I know a lot of info about how they work. The average timeframe for a short sale is about 30 - 60 days for a bank approval. This will all depend on which bank it is too. Some banks are faster, some are slower. Like it was already stated too, most banks will not pay the full commission if there is only one agent involved. Maybe that is why many of the listing agents are not calling you back. This is why you should have your own agent as your representation. This way they will be motivated to actually work and make their money too.

I would be more than happy to discuss all the details about short sales if you would like to call me at my number below. I like sharing my knowledge and expertise with people. I will also talk to you about referring you to an agent in your area that knows what they are doing too. Hope to hear back from you...