Are Short Sales Worth the Trouble for the Buyer

**homeprobuyersguide** · 03-24-2011, 07:52 PM

Are short sales worth the trouble?

Short sales are created when the sales price of a home falls below the amount of the mortgage. Most of the time, the only way the home can be sold is for the mortgage company (the lender) to agree to take less than the amount owed as a pay-off. The lender is short of what they are owed. At some point, if the seller gets behind on his mortgage payment, the lender will foreclose. When that happens the lender becomes the owner of the home, and usually they want to sell it. The net effect on a buyer in the current market is a lower purchase price. (Note: There are some disadvantages in buying short sales).

Does anyone know the average amount of money a buyer can save with short sales versus non short sales?

**Greg** · 03-26-2011, 05:23 AM

Today's short sale is tomorrow's sold comp used by appraisers to determine value of real estate.

The end consequence is conventional sellers have to compete with short sales to sell which ends up making both sales pretty much equal.

In my market I have not seen buyers getting any special deals on short sales. Now, the perceived savings might be something else, just like the foreclosure buyers who bid a property too high.

In my opinion, short sales are not worth the effort a buyer goes through to get one.

**laura.alamery** · 04-05-2011, 09:19 AM

I think it all comes down to the buyer's goals.
If the buyer wants to save his/her credit from a foreclosure remark, definitely he/she needs to consider a short sale. However he/she needs to be careful about default judgments from the bank, otherwise he/she might avoid a foreclosure for now, but might have to file for bankruptcy later.
As far as saving money, no real advantage there. Yes, short sales are another form of adding inventory to the distressed properties scenario, but still are better than foreclosures, which become REO and vacant or abandoned homes.

**realestategirl** · 04-07-2011, 10:09 PM

The biggest drawback to the seller about a short the length of time you have to wait to get the short sale application approved. Usually, the process is taking longer than six months that the houses either begins to fell below it's target price or the owners have already been so late on their payments, that the house is eventually foreclosed on.

**Carla Hailey** · 08-01-2011, 06:56 AM

In short sales, lenders have to approve first a short sale before it is final and it can take anything from a few days to two months,that may result to buyer being not interested.

**ogden34** · 08-03-2011, 02:22 AM

I'm not sure about the money you can save buying short sales over traditional purchases. But I'm sure that you will save a lot in short sales. The only disadvantage buying this kind of property is the longer process that normally takes 120 days or more.

**Maddie** · 08-03-2011, 02:37 PM

short sales are not worth it! there are so many people who think they are and in the end the results are, an unhappy seller, lots of paper work and saw head!

**pandy1021** · 09-30-2011, 06:17 AM

Hmm. Not much .. But well it actually depends on what the buyer is looking for. Most buyers don't get to short sales because what they see ahead is the disadvantages.

**jumpingspidermedia** · 11-08-2011, 05:22 PM

Originally Posted by laura.alamery

I think it all comes down to the buyer's goals.
If the buyer wants to save his/her credit from a foreclosure remark, definitely he/she needs to consider a short sale. However he/she needs to be careful about default judgments from the bank, otherwise he/she might avoid a foreclosure for now, but might have to file for bankruptcy later.
As far as saving money, no real advantage there. Yes, short sales are another form of adding inventory to the distressed properties scenario, but still are better than foreclosures, which become REO and vacant or abandoned homes.

You've totally made a point! It's will depends on the buyer's goal at the end of the day! But,like you said just be careful in anything you do!

**Chris Kukelhan** · 11-18-2011, 08:36 AM

Short sales can really frustrate buyers if expectations are not properly set upfront. Any buyer looking to purchase a short sale needs not be in a hurry to move. They also need to be prepared to wait many months without hearing anything back from the bank. Many buyers get excited when their initial offer gets accepted by the seller only to be disappointed when the bank goes with a different offer or forecloses on the property.

Short sales are not for typical buyers, IMHO.