Advertised Short Sale Can Be Misleading

It is easy to get exited when one is looking for homes and sees a 3400 sq/ft home in Gilbert built in 2004 listed at $299,000 with a huge yard and pool.  You read the description and think it sounds perfect…it’s advertised as a short sale, but surely you can put up with a little extra work and inconvenience if it will net you a smoking deal right?  My Grandmother, and probably yours too, used to say, “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is”….and once again my Grandmother is right.

Some agents are advertising short sales well below what is reasonable and what a bank will accept trying to create a bidding atmosphere.  They have no intention of getting an approval at the advertised price.  Most often these properties either sell for well over the advertised price or they end up at auction or as an approved bank-owned foreclosure. 

One year I got a two-paged typed Christmas list from my then nine year old.  Getting that good of a deal is pretty much the same idea…wishful thinking!