Preapproved! All listings here seem to be short sales.. questions about negotiating..

[Anonymous]

I've never posted here but been reading the forums for several months!  We have been approved for 120,000 loan (FHA). We are a single income family.  Living in florida it seems like the listings ratio is about 80% short sales and 20% regular ... obviously this could be an exaggeration but it seems that way! We obviously want to negotiate to get the best deal possible. When it comes to short sales and the listed "bank approved" price... is there normally still room for strong negotiations? Is there a rule of thumb of what to offer on a property compared to asking price?  We are liking a lot of homes in the low to mid 130s currently.

If i'm not making sense forgive me lol, I have two under two and my brain is a tad fried today!

[indecison]

I do not know a bunch about short sales but I would suggest finding a realtor that specializes in short sales to represent you. They will likely have an inside track on comparables and the proper price to offer in connection with properties you are looking at.

[Anonymous]

thanks.

It's actually frustrating the the majority are short sales lol

[LondonMassey]

Honestly, it depends on what the real estate market is like where you are and the comps of neighboring homes.

Here in Las Vegas, had I offered less than list price or asked for seller paid items for my contracted home, I would've lost the chance. I also came in with an extra $1000 in earnest money.

I offered at list for 6 other properties and ended up in a battle for highest and best.

This time, I caught the listing from another realtor's site as soon as it was listed. There was no picture which kept a lot of people away at first, but not me. I read the details, saw it was a newer build and claimed to have almost what I wanted. Went to see it and was the first offer in. Gave listing price and didn't ask for any expenses paid.

I'm closing within a week and while under contract, the home has gained 20k in equity.... it's been a long longggggggggggg road though (7 months)!

[StartingOver10]

I'm a Fl Realtor and you are right - most of the listings are short sale offerings with a very few that are 'regular' sales and the rest are bank owned.

Do use a Realtor that is experienced in short sales and REO properties or it will make your purchase much more difficult.  I don't know where  you are in Fl, but in S Fl where I am anything decent has multiple offers on it right away.

As far as the bank approved price goes: it depends upon how long ago the bank approved the price. If they approved it last week and the buyer walked, then you have very little negotiating room. If it was approved two months ago and the buyer walked or failed to close, then you have more room to negotiate ...but those are rare now. The banks in our area have been increasing the prices on short sales over the last couple of months - especially if they have been in negotiations for a long time.

The best advice I can offer you is to be very, very aware of the recent comparable sales in the neighborhood. Don't get caught up in the excitement and offer too much. You and your agent need to look out for you - because the bank is trying to get top dollar at your expense.

[hshearer]

I am closing on a short sale next week.  It is in Arizona.  It was listed at 135000 and I offered 130000 plus 3% of closing and it was accepted.  I put the offer in 8/6 and am closing by 10/1 so luckily it was a quick process.   This was the second home I put an offer on.  The first home was a bidding war that I lost.  It was listed at 100000 and I offered 115000.

the best advise I have is to find a realtor you click with.  They will be able to give you an idea whether there is room to negotiate or not.  My realtor is amazing we were on the same page immediately and he kept everything moving.  I was also doing this from 2000 miles away so he took care of everything for me.

Good luck on your home search!  If you have any questions on the short sale process let me know!

Heather