Hello again from Ground Zero in Real Estate!
It looks like 2010 will be THE year for short sales. A short sale is when you attempt to sell your home for less than what you owe to the bank. In the past, banks have been hesitant to do this (wonder why?). However, over this past year, bank's attitudes have slowly changed, as they are beginning to realize that they will probably get more in a short sale than a foreclosure.
What does this mean to you? Well, if you are a seller, and you thought there was no way to sell your home because you are upside down, that may no longer be true. A short sale WILL hurt your credit, but less than a foreclosure would. If you are a buyer, it means that next year, about HALF of the homes you are shown will be short sales.
What this means for buyers is that you will need to consider short sales when house hunting. They will make sense for you IF you do not have to move soon. A short sale still takes at least TWICE as long to close as a regular or bank owned home. If that doesn't matter to you, you can make a pretty sweet deal with a short sale in the coming year. Oh, and by the way, be aware that it may take a couple tries. Even with the improvements, only about half of short sales have offers accepted by the bank and are ultimately sold. Again, be patient, and you could net a great deal.
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