There are many home buyers who are now considering buying a strange phenomenon called a short sale. We recently covered what a Short Sale is, but as a reminder, the lender agrees to accept a mortgage payoff amount less than the amount owed to allow the sale to go through. The lender forgives the seller of remaining balance of the loan. We covered how that can benefit you, but what are some basic steps to actually pursuing a short sell? This will be part one of a two part series, so let's get started!

Step one? Find the short sales. You can locate home that are in pre-foreclosure several ways. Online databases are the most popular but you can also search courthouse listings or legal ads. Of course, the best and most reliable way is through a Real Estate Agent! Now that you have found potential properties, go take a look!

Step two is fairly straight forward! What is the condition of the home? Do you see any major repairs that will have to be completed? This is the time to estimate how much it will take to renovate or repair the house. Don't be discouraged if it needs a little work!! The average buyer may not even consider the home at all and that is good for you! Make sure and do your research. You want to save money, not spend more than the house may be worth.

You have found the home, checked into the condition and potential cost of any repairs, so now what? The next step is finding out who has liens on the property. The seller or their agent should be able to provide you will all the lien holders on the mortgage. They will be able to tell you who the primary lien holder is. You also need to start thinking about your financing. Once everything is worked out and settled, the actual closing can be as fast as 20 days. You will want to have everything in place before that final agreement is reached. You may even see if the existing lender would be willing to give you a loan.

But that's jumping ahead, Dealing with the lien holder on the seller's home is a tedious process we will discuss next time.  As we see, it is fairly unlikely you will be closing on the home in 20 days!

Need help finding short sale properties in your area? We can you find one and walk you through the process of buying one. Give Sandy's Team a call at (225) 677-SOLD or email info@sandyco.com. We are here it help you in East Baton Rouge, Livingston Parish, and Ascension Parish.