How do I buy a short sale?

With lots of patience! Short sale properties are listed for sale in most areas just as “traditional” sale properties are. Once an offer is accepted by both buyer and seller, though … a third party weighs in: The Lender(s). The lender in a short sale is agreeing to lose money – to accept LESS than is owed to pay off the loan of the seller. The lender will want to consider this very carefully … to appraise the property, to compare the amount they would expect to lose on a foreclosure to the amount the expect to lose on the short … and to assess the seller’s capacity for actually paying off the loan (they dont want to let people short sell just because they feel like it – only if they truly dont have the capacity to pay for the home). This permission can take a few weeks … or months and months, depending upon the lender and circumstance (location, size, amount they stand to lose, etc.) Deadlines may be set and extended many, many times. Short sales can be great deals for buyers – but the uncertain closing timeline adds a degree of stress to the buyers mortgage timeline and housing situation while awaiting sale. They may also require that the buyer spend a certain amount of money on inspections, appraisal, etc without being completely sure of their ability to buy the home – it is up to the buyer to determine whether the value of the sale is worth this risk or not. Working with a real estate agent and attorney that specialize in short sales can demystify the process significantly – highly recommended.