Short sales dominate the real estate market.  It is difficult to go through a list of homes and actually find a home that isn't a short sale.  I get excited when I find my buyer a home that is the traditional seller to buyer type deal.  Short sales are here to stay for at least the next few years so it is imperative for buyers to work with a real estate agent that knows what they are doing.  A short sale is a complicated. long drawn-out process that really puts a buyer to the test!  A good real estate agent will know how to weed through the multitudes of listings in order to determine the home is actually availabe and determine whether or not the listing Realtor will be successful in getting the lender to approve the short sale.  These are two very important questions that need to be asked before a buyer's agent should show the buyer the property.  Many listing Realtors are leaving the listing active in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so it looks like there are no offers on the property, but in reality they are holding several offers.  How does this benefit the buyer?  Once an offer is actually submitted to the lender, or lenders in some cases, it takes approximately 60 to 90 days just for the lender to either accept the offer or counter the offer.  The buyer's agent and the listing realtor need to work together to ensure the offer that is being made on the property is a reasonable offer, pre-approval is obtained and the buyer is made aware of the short sale timeframe and is willing to hang in there for the long haul.  At this point, the listing Realtor should take the home off the market and give this buyer "first right of refusal."  Many listing Realtors are not doing this so a good buyer's agent must know how to avoid these homes for their buyers.  The second question about whether or not the listing Realtor is going to get the deal done.  I have learned through the school of hard knocks to advise a buyer to not bother to put in an offer is I feel the listing Realtor is not going to get the deal done.  If the listing Realtor is savvy, they will employ one of the many strategies available to get a short sale done.  A good buyer's agent will be able to determine if the route the listing agent has chosen to take will work. 

To all the buyers looking for a great home, now is the time to take advantage of the good deals that are available to you.  There are many short sale and bank-owned properties that are being sold for way below market prices.  You just have to understand, short sales take time but the pay-off is incredible!

Tampa Real Estate | Tampa Foreclosures | Tampa Real Estate News | Tampa Real Estate Blog

For more information, please contact me at info@buytampafl.com

Looking for a new home? Search the Tampa Real Estate market for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.