Short sales - anyone have any experience with them?

xmacro

I'm moving to a new condo in a really beautiful area, I looked into buying a place - seems that before the real estate bust, condo's in this area were going for around $160,000 - $180,000, but now they're selling for around $60,000.

I figure if I could buy a place on the cheap, and hold onto it for a few yrs, I could make some major money, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience/advice for something like this.

I'm not in any rush; just signed a 3 mo lease for a furnished place, that's extendable, so I can wait if it takes awhile

Toombes

Sorry, misunderstood the title. I was going to suggest you PM Enfidl...

BigT06

There are a lot of variables involved, brother. Depending on the 5 year projections for the area, buying a place at 30% of the original cost is typically a good move. Again there are MANY variables. But thats exactly what I did. I bought my house for 38% of the build cost.!!

marineatbn03

I have had a little experience with short sales in Florida, and they are hit or miss. Really comes down to what the bank has invested in it and what there bottom dollar is. I have seen more short sales go through in the last couple of years because the banks have become humbled. I knew a family that owed 270k, got a offer for 242k and the bank turned it down. It ended up going to auction, with no sale and the bank had to sit on it for two years. So they are more inclined to take a reasonable offer now days.

danielzreyes

I just bought a short sale home myself. My wife and I made the decision that we wanted the house back in early Feb. It took nearly 5 months to close escrow.
The attractive number for a short sale home is exactly what it is. It's to attract buyers. What you don't see is the dealing with banks (they will always turn down that first "attractive number" and ask for more), dealing with other agents/buyers who are also interested (now you're trying to outbid each other), and there is a chance that there is still a 3rd party involved (previous home owners who's going to want you to pay off their Liens on the house) etc. etc. etc.

I'm not trying to scare you into not buying a new condo. But if you are willing to get into crap like this (which is what my wife and I went through btw) then by all means go for it.

Oh, and of course there's the renovation of the house (what were going through right now) because the "3rd party" decides to eff up the house when they got the news that they were going to lose their home.

Plus finding someone to rent out our previous condo...ugh
Apologies if I ranted off there and highjacked the thread. I've been stressed out lately. Ya know......house stuff. It will be worth it for my fam. once we're in and settled. Again, apologies.

xmacro

Not at all; I'm looking for the good and the bad. I already knew short sales can take awhile to close, but this is all new to me so I'm looking for any info I can get, and this post helped a lot

Rob1110

Short sales can be a nightmare but you can definitely get a good deal if you're patient, not in a rush and don't mind doing all due diligence. Banks can be a real pain to deal with. Just make sure you read up on it and know what you're getting into. Talk to some real estate agents and find one you trust (I know, it's like finding a trustworthy used car salesman).

Seeing this post makes me realize just how disgusting the market is up here. Let's just say we paid more than six times what you're looking at for a house up here.

danielzreyes

Rob1110:

Short sales can be a nightmare but you can definitely get a good deal if you're patient, not in a rush and don't mind doing all due diligence.

+1

Heavy

Having an agent you trust is definitely a must. You want someone that will not only steer to you a good place, but also one that would steer you away from a bad place rather than just try to make a sale. Also, your finances must be secured and air-tight. A bank won't mess around with any contingencies or any other stips - you need to be pre-approved and show them there won't be any issues with your financing or they'll just move on to the next offer.

Good luck bro, there are definitely some steals out there.

Heavy

Oh yeah, get an inspector that you trust as well. You don't want to burn up your instant equity repairing a bunch of stuff you weren't expecting to have to deal with. Expect to deal with some repairs/upgrades, determine what they will cost you before you buy and do the math to make sure it truly is a good deal.

xmacro

Much appreciate all the advice guys; keep it coming if you've got anything