Think twice about making an offer on a pre-foreclosure or “short sale”. Purchasing a short sale or pre-foreclosure is not as easy as one thinks. A lot of hard work and “nerves of steel” go into getting a pre-foreclosed property. A short sale is executed basically to prevent a home foreclosure. A bank will accept a short sale in some cases where the financial loss is smaller than if the home went into foreclosure. Sellers who are about to lose their homes usually try to put the house up for sale first, and, unfortunately, they try to cover the costs of what is owed on the house in determining the listing price. So, the house sits on the market with numerous price reductions and then you will see in the remarks section of the listing that all offers are subject to bank approval. “Bingo”…..then you know it’s a Short Sale in the works. The problem is that by this time no one really knows what the house is worth. Buyers come around and make ridiculously low bids and the banks take forever to respond. In one instance, the buyer’s bid was finally accepted (two months later) and “guess what?” – the buyer wasn’t happy because he thought he was paying too much now so he lowered his initial bid. And the cycle continues. Best advice is to consult with a real estate professional who will tell you the truth about the current real estate values. I help my clients make informed decisions by basing my advice on “facts”. For further information on Short Sales or for true current market property values contact me.