Señor Short Sale Says...."Let's Make a Deal!"
I came across an article on MSN real estate titled "What kind of home should you look for?" by Amy Hoak of MarketWatch. She was talking about how the housing market's inventory is full of foreclosures, short sales and home builders who are willing to make a deal. Which reminded me of the 70's game show "Let's make a deal". Buyer's who are in the housing market today are probably trying to decide which deal is would be best. Should they choose door #1-forclosures, door #2 - short sales or door #3 - sale from a homebuilder. Just like the old game show you can run into some crazy characters and have to make some tough decisions and try not to get fooled.
To not get fooled and to get more bang for your buck you have to understand your local market's inventory. The dynamics in your local market will play a significant role in how the different types of homes are priced. You will also need to decide how much risk you are willing to/can absorb in time and money for your home investment.
Thanks to technology and the internet buyer's are more educated and informed today than ever before. They know what they are looking for. Most buyer's should and do know what they can afford and where they would like to live down to the neighborhood. Then they can decide on what type of home they need and see if they want to play "Let Make a Deal".
In California's market, short sales offer some of the best deals. But as with all deals you must weigh the opportunity costs. Even though government programs and lenders are trying to speed up the process of short sales a buyer must have lots of patience. A short sale can take months and some buyer's will wait for months and then find out they did not get the property; which is somewhat why the home is discounted. Not unlike waiting until Christmas Eve to get your Christmas tree so that you might get one for free. This is why buyers must understand that there's a reason why short sales are such a deal. The market generally discounts short sales by 5% to 8%. But you have to play the game to get the deal.
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