Is a short sale listing worth the time and effort? YES ,if it is a home that has the particulars of your wants and needs and is located in areas in which you wish to live.

Do they all close successfully?  No, BUT we are seeing more and more of them closing. We personally have had several close successfully in last few months.

Is there anything I need to be aware of?  Yes. Make sure your offer takes into account the continued downward spiral of house values.  Expect two to 4 months from offer presented to closing. WHY? Your lender will need it to appraise at current market value.

Is it ok to ask for the seller to do inspections and repair any issues found?  My answer to this is: The seller in our listings will not do any repairs or reports. They have no money. Granted it will be their lenders decision for final approval but in the scheme of things we have found it better for the buyer to write it up subject to buyers own inspections at buyers expense.  The sellers lender will attempt to reduce their losses further and most will not accept and will counter it is buyers responsibility to do own inspections and the house is being sold in AS IS condition.

Can a buyer ask for Credit back towards closing costs? Yes and most banks have complied with some exceptions. However if you are making an offer and it is completely subject to a specified amount of credit back to you the buyer you might want to rethink your strategy and whether you really qualify for this home.  Some of the lenders will only give partial credit back to buyers closing costs. Some have given all. A few have rejected giving any  closing costs back to buyer.

What about appliances ? Can we ask the seller to throw them in?  Generally speaking, appliances such as refrigerator, washer and dryer are considered personal property. Most sellers in a short sale situation will not include these appliances in the purchase offer. HOWEVER, you can negotiate with the seller to purchase outside of the purchase contract since they are personal property.

So just be prepared. Remember the home owner cannot make any profit from the sale of their home. Period. (Personal property is not considered part of the sale).