Foreclosure, short sale, pre-foreclosure, bank  
 owned, lender approval required....
 What does all of this mean?!

 We created this page to explain the terminology and give 
 you a bit of insight into how purchasing the various types of 
 properties works so you know what to expect before you  
 are caught up in the middle of it. 

 Short Sale: This is the type of sale that we are asked the 
 most about.  A 'short sale' is typically a property that is for 
 sale where the seller will not make enough money to pay off 
 their mortgage when they sell.  That is why they are 'short'.  
 In this situation, you will usually make an offer and negotiate 
 first with the seller.  If you come to an agreement with the 
 seller, it will be contingent upon the seller's lender approving
 the short sale (in essence agreeing to accept less money 
 than they are owed for the mortgage on the property).  This 
 is the part of the process that can take a long time.  Although 
 it varies from bank to bank and lender to lender, and also 
 depends on the experience of the people (realtors, 
 attorneys, lenders) involved in trying to get it done.  The 
 fastest response from a seller's lender we have seen is 
 three weeks.  The longest has been 4-5 months or they do 
 not reply at all!  So going into a short sale, you have to have 
 time and patience as you don't know what will happen for 
 certain until you get a response from the lender.  You will 
 have to give it time.  This type of sale may not be for you if 
 you need to move by a certain date.  Most of the time, a 
 short sale will also be sold in 'as-is' condition because the 
 seller does not have any money to make repairs.  The seller 
 in this case may also be on their way to foreclosure if they
 have not been making their mortgage payments.

 Pre-foreclosure:  The seller in this case has usually missed 
 mortgage payments and been notified that the foreclosure 
 process has been started by their lender.  There will usually 
 be limited time left for the seller to sell before the 
 foreclosure process is complete and they no longer own the 
 property.  This time frame can vary greatly and depend on 
 when the seller was first notified of the foreclosure on their 
 home.  Many times in our current market, this type of 
 property will also be a 'short-sale' (see above). 

 Lender or Third Party Approval required:  This is usually 
 the same as a 'short-sale'.  Just marketed with the different 
 wording.

 Foreclosure:  This is a property that has already gone 
 through the entire foreclosure process and the bank is now 
 the owner.  In this situation you can typically close in 
 the customary time frame, 30-45 days from when you agree 
 on a contract with the bank.  These properties are almost 
 always sold in 'as-is' condition.  Most of the time they will 
 require significant repair, but on occasion we will find one 
 that does not need much work.  You will usually incur some 
 extra expenses to get the utilities turned on and for any other 
 fees the bank will not cover.

 Bank Owned:  Same as foreclosure above, it is just
 marketed with different wording.

 Corporate Owned:  Usually the same as purchasing a
 foreclosure, just marketed with different wording.

 You can expect to jump through some hoops in any of these
 types of transactions.  Many times you will wait and wait, and
 then all of sudden the bank will want everything in a day once
 they have made a decision.  Just do your due diligence, and
 if it makes sense for your situation and looks like a good deal
 - go for it! 

 Please feel free to contact us any time with questions.

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