Foreclosures and short sales are the buzz words and these are what is selling in the Venice, Englewood, North Port and Port Charlotte Florida market.
There seems to be many people that do not know the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure. They are not the same. A foreclosure is when the bank is selling the property, it is already owned by the bank thus the term REO(real estate owned). These are handled by an asset manager from the bank in most cases. They list them with a local real estate broker to market and sell them. The main difference between buying a regular resale VS a foreclosure is the paperwork. Since the bank has never lived in the property they will have you sign an addendum that basically states that you are buying it "AS IS", since they cannot warrant the condition the property is in. You still have a 10 day inspection period and the sale is subject to inspection. If you are financing you will need a pre approval letter before the bank will look at the offer. If you plan on paying cash you will need proof of funds from where your money is.

A short sale is the owner, not the bank selling it. These are often referred to as "Pre Foreclosures". The owner owes more than the property will sell for in today's market and is trying to get the bank to settle for less. Thus the term "Short Sale". If these are listed and presented properly they can be very successful. If the proper process has not been followed it can take upwards of 4-8 weeks to even get a response on an offer that is presented, and 4-6 months to close if the offer is successful. If handled properly you can normally get a response within 3 weeks on an offer. Another key to success is to have an approved listing range that the bank will accept. Unless the bank has approved a list range the list prices are not real and I find them to be a waste of time.

For more information on this subject please watch the video's that I have posted on You Tube or feel free to contact me if you have questions.