Short sales are when an owner of a home is selling, but will not make enough money from the sale of their home to pay off their mortgage and closing costs.  It is a sad situation, but is quite common these days even in Seattle.

The good news for you is that a short sale may represent a great bargain for you the buyer.  Think about it.  If you were selling your home short, do you really care if it is 10,000 or 100,000 short?  Of course not.  It is all the same to you.  So buyers can often negotiate great deals with short sale homes.

OK, here is the down side.  With any short sale you need to get approval from the seller’s bank since they are the ones taking the loss.  While a short sale often represents a better option for the bank, they are still in no rush to approve the sale.  A short sale can take as long as six months to close.

So, long story short (pun intended).  A short sale can represent a great bargain if you are willing to wait a while for the bank to approve the sale.  They may be the best bargains, but they are not quick.

Happy Hunting.

Give me a call if you need help:

Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Representative
Windermere Real Estate
206-321-6349
robgraham@windermere.com

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