Let's face it; buying a home is the single largest investment that most people will make in their lifetime.  It is scary and overwhelming at times!  There are so many terms and types of listings!  Do you know what they all mean?  Make sure you have a good buyer's agent that does!

According to my handy-dandy Eighth Edition Real Estate Dictionary, here are a few terms, their meaning and what they potentially mean to you; the buyer!

Regular or Equity Sale- (Ok, this one is not in my dictionary) but this is a traditional sale in that there is a seller that has some equity and it is his or her home to sell outright.  They may or may not have a loan to pay off and they are the decision maker!

This is my favorite type of sale! There is a real person that knows the history of the house and by law, must disclose what he or she knows about the property. You get a person to ask questions and the negotiations can be smoother.

Short Sale (Pre-Foreclosure)-A sale under which a lender allows a borrower to avoid foreclosure by selling the mortgaged property for an amount less than the the amount necessary to pay off the mortgage loan.

My Translation?  This could take a very long time!  From my experience the bank is not typically in a big hurry to lose their money.  If there is a good listing agent and a cooperative bank, there are some deals to be found here but it could take potentially two to eight months to get to the end.  Even then, the bank sometimes says, "no".  Be ready for just about anything when dealing with a short sale! For more in depth short sale info; click here:  So What's All This Talk About Short Sales?

RE0 (Real Estate Owned) - This most commonly refers to a property owned by a lender from foreclosure.

This is where many think the deals are to be had and sometimes they are!  However, buyer beware!  Most banks sell their homes "as is".  They are exempt from many disclosures that protect buyers so it is really important to have a good agent representing you and a great inspector!  You really want to make sure you know what you are getting into!

Corporate Owned - (No entry in my dictionary for this one either) but we are seeing more and more of these.  Corporate owned typically means investor owned.  An investor (or group of) may have purchased the property from the bank or at a foreclosure sale.  Often times they will fix it up and sell it for a profit.  This is very similar to a bank owned property and is often times sold as is.

IMPORTANT NOTE- This type of property may NOT qualify for an FHA loan so it is important to find out how long the corporation has owned the property. FHA has a minimum time requirement that a corporation must have owned the home.

Some other things to remember:

• Always get an inspection!  Some people think that since it is "as is" and the bank won't pay for repairs, they shouldn't bother.  This makes it more important than ever!  Don't you want to know what you are getting into?
• Have a Realtor that can negotiate for you! There are so many things that can come up (especially at inspection) and you want to make sure you have proper representation.
• Have fun!  Buying a house may be overwhelming but it is also so exciting! 

There is nothing more rewarding to me than helping someone find their very first home and helping to make home ownership a reality!  If you have questions or are thinking about dipping your toe in the market, please call or shoot me an email. I would appreciate the opportunity to earn your business!

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Cristal Drake - Realtor (R)...At Your Service for all your Fullerton area real estate needs!   Re/Max North Orange County - 714-423-7525.  I am not an attorney and all information here is my opinion. Copyright 2008 all rights reserved. 

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