short sale If you are looking for a good deal on a home and do not want to move into it right away, consider buying a short sale. These are homes whose owners owe more than they are presently worth, and the bank has agreed to let the owners sell them for their current market value, and sometimes even less. The short sale homes are good buys for investors or people who want to get a home for a reasonable price, but the process can take a long time, depending on how many lenders are involved. Sometimes people have more than one mortgage instrument on their home, and satisfying all the lenders involved usually takes time.

If you want to buy a short sale home, ask your Realtor to cull out the homes that have just one mortgage should you want a quick close on the home. Otherwise you could wait months for the deal to be approved. On the other hand, if you have no sense of urgency to get a different home or are adding to your real estate portfolio, you might want to look for the best deal possible on a short sale, no matter how long it will take to buy the home.