Someone recently told me, “My agent told me not even to look at short sales because they will never be resolved and it will take months and months.”

                After I told him that he needs me as an agent and not the other person, (I’m human), I explained that while his agent was somewhat correct, that was the OLD school of thought, and he really needed to consider the opportunity that a short sale can provide. They’re not going away-short sales will be a part of the market for some time to come, and they still represent a majority of the available market.   

You definitely need to look at short sales if …..You’re writing an offer with an FHA loan.  There are very few sellers who will choose an FHA buyer over one with more to put down than 3.5%.  Short sales will consider FHA loans-they know that in the long haul, the FHA buyers are usually the only ones who will hang in there because they know they can’t get accepted in anything else.   Or…You want to purchase in a specific area and there are no other homes on the market. I can’t tell you how many clients I run into who want a certain area and nothing else. Usually, the short sale is the only one available. 

There are benefits of short sales…the obvious one is that you can get a home at less than market value. Short sales usually sell approximately 10-15% below market value. Sometimes patience does have its virtues. I know of several buyers who have hung in there for months on end and ended up with the home they wanted at less than their original offer. Not the norm, but it’s happened.

There is some good news about short sales and their time frames-the Feds are holding lenders to more specific time frames and things are starting to move faster as lenders start to stabilize. Still takes time, but things are improving. They will be a part of this market for a long time to come-I wouldn’t avoid them, I’d get an agent who knows how to deal with them and bring them to a successful close.