One thing a buyer should know about a short sale is that there is not necessarily a commitment by the bank to sell the house. When the bank completes a short sale they have to write off the difference between their loan amount and the lesser proceeds from the escrow. Something they would normally wish to avoid.

Any short sale contract includes a contingency where the bank must approve the sale. If the bank persuades the seller to refinance the house, then the bank doesn’t approve the short sale and the buyer gets their deposit back. After the offer was made, the bank may try to convince the seller to refinance their loan and stay in the house, which avoids the bank having to take the write off.

As a general observation, people do business with people they trust. What matters here would be having interest in what is best for the buyer as well as having a long term relationship with the people you work with. The real estate market of Las Vegas short sales and Las Vegas foreclosure is not easy to understand.

Las Vegas short sales need a lot of patience and time to seal a transaction. It may take months for the lender to respond, and you should find someone who can help you that is very experienced in the industry.

Foreclosure is a legal process where the creditor takes ownership of the property when the debtor fails to meet payment schedules due to sever financial constraints. Foreclosed properties simply mean the owner has moved out and the bank holds legal title to the property. In some states the previous owner still has a “redemption period” to get the home back from the bank.

An offer on a foreclosed property can take anywhere from one day to two weeks to be accepted by the bank and usually 30 to 45 days from acceptance to close. A Las Vegas foreclosure, though, is final and the bank can turn around and sell them right away.

Generally speaking, it is possible to get better deals on Las Vegas condos and homes by targeting foreclosure listings. Foreclosure buyers need to keep in mind that everyone is looking for those deals right now. Sales volume in Las Vegas in August and July was back up to 2005 levels, and the best priced foreclosures have multiple offers submitted. Most foreclosures are actually selling above the listed price, not below.

Buyers need to keep in mind that these foreclosures are steals to begin with. Then they need to have a savvy agent that can provide comparables so you can judge a home’s true worth. It’s not how much you can “get off” the sales price that counts - it is how much the winning bid is in relation to the home’s value. Buyers need to be patient and realize it might take anywhere from two to six offers to acquire the home of their dreams at the price they want to pay.

If you’ve searched for homes in the last little while, you know that Las Vegas short sales are all over. Those in the market for a new home should seriously consider a Las Vegas foreclosure.