Real Estate Investing With Short Sales

From Short Sale Daily News:
Now is the time for folks who can take advantage of today's real estate market to beef up their investment portfolios with short sales. Banks are closing them faster than ever before and, from start to finish, it’s not as painful anymore. There are plenty to choose from, and short sale homes make good investments because they are priced at or below market. As a general rule, short sales take a little longer to buy than the foreclosed homes (but not always) and they are in much better condition most of the time.

As agents, it’s important to remind our buyers not to be afraid of short sales. In many cases, the banks will pay closing costs and an HOA transfer fee. This is not always the case in a foreclosure sale. Some of the home foreclosures are in pretty rough condition and they will cost some cash to fix up enough to be rented or lived in.

Consider talking to your investors and buyers about short sales as we’ve seen a jump in short sale purchases by investors which is great news for short sale agents.

Sellers complete a successful short sale and stay current on your loan and you can BUY another home – no kidding.

There is a new government program that allows people to do a short sale and move to another more affordable home, with no penalty, so long as their payments are current.

Right now one out of every three homes is upside down in our state, Colorado, and statistics show this is going to continue for up to 10 more years. Numerous other states like Nevada and Florida have similar issues.

The next decade of housing will be suppressed and how exciting that the government is doing something about it. Keep in mind, the program only applies to homeowners who are current and have no late payments. Also, make sure your sellers get pre-approved. It requires a minimum 620 credit score. The program is limited to sales prices of about $360,000 and require at 3.5% of the home price as a down payment. Contact lenders in your area for more information on this new program. Then be sure to educate and inform your clients of this program.