The Asheville area now has a good selection of short sales and foreclosures on offer. There are upsides and downsides to purchasing a short sale or a foreclosure in Asheville NC. You may get a bargain, however in a short sale situation the seller's lender must agree to the contract terms which can take 3 or 4 months or even longer, as banks are overwhelmed with applications that are flooding in under the Administration's Making Home Affordable Plan. Once an offer has been presented, it is possible that others come in and must be presented, especially in the busy summer season. In a pre-foreclosure situation, the lender or other beneficiary is getting ready to foreclose on the property which must be disclosed on the listing. Once an offer is forthcoming, the lender must approve the contract before moving forward.