Lehigh Valley Home Buyer Interested in 2 Homes - 1 is a Short Sale - Pros & Cons

As a Lehigh Valley Home Buyer, you have found 2 homes that you really like. 1 is being sold by a seller with positive equity and the other is a short sale.

How does this affect your decision on which house to try and purchase?

Seller Has Some Equity
- Make offer, will probably have reply within a day or two
- Get property inspections, if any problems, try to negotiate with seller (will seller fix or will buyer pull plug)
- Seller should ensure utilities are on and home de-winterized for any inspections.

Short Sale
- Make offer, seller will or will not accept, then it goes to bank to see if they will allow seller to "short" them the money they are owed. How many liens are on the property? Can the seller definitely prove a hardship to get short sale approval?
- House is being sold as-is, property inspections are done for informational purposes only, depending on repairs the only option may be to pull plug on purchase.
- House may have utilities turned off or winterized. Who gets them turned on? Charges?
- Buyer may have to pay a few thousand dollars to have Short Sale Negotiation Company process the purchase (requirements vary with each listing).

What is the Advantage of Purchasing a Short Sale?

You get a home with more amenities for a better price.

If both homes are equally the same, you may get the home seller with equity to accept $5,000 or $10,000 off the list price of the home. You may be able to get the short sale for $20,000 less (the bank WILL send an appraiser out to the home to determine value before accepting an offer). 

What are the Negatives of Purchasing a Short Sale

The process to determine what the bank will accept can be long and tedious. Only a home buyer with flexibility on closing dates can usually place an offer on a short sale property.  

While waiting for a reply from the bank on the Short Sale Property, the other property you like may be sold.

If you really like the Short Sale property it may be worth it.

For all of your Lehigh Valley Real Estate Information, visit www.lehighvalleyhomesonline.com