Buying a Short Sale Home in Las Vegas or Henderson Nevada
Buying a short sale in Las Vegas is becoming a much more attractive option for home buyers as our currently inventory has been slashed in recent months. Of the 11,760 homes for sale right now in the Las Vegas valley, only 2,575 are bank owned foreclosures. As a buyer, if you factor in homes that will not be in your price range, reside in areas that do not interest you, as well as the condition of the home not being to your liking, that 2500 figure quickly gets whittled down. Of those few homes that may draw your attention, we are frequently seeing multiple offer situations and your chances of being the winning bidder are further reduced! Buyers get worn down with this process. Imagine having to go out and look at 25 homes a week in the heat of Las Vegas, put in offers on the couple you actually like, only to get shot down. This process can continue for weeks.
As an alternative, buyers have begun to turn to homes being offered on short sale terms. There are advantages to buying short sales vs bank owned.
- You get to lock up your home under contract right away. A good agent, proficient in short sales, will know how to get that seller to commit to you as a buyer. Remember, sellers can still forward additional offers to the bank even if you have a contract, so having a strong agent, who can keep the seller committed to you is essential.
- The real estate industry has becoming more adept at processing short sales in this market saturated with distressed sellers. Short sales have always existed, but never has the industry been forced to deal with the volume of foreclosures and short sales. Although not perfect, it is easier than a year ago, and getting better.
- You often get to see how the home is being treated. With many short sales, they are often occupied, giving you insight into how they home is being maintained, something not available when you are making offers on vacant foreclosures. Also, the landscaping can also be saved, since all utilities are on at the property. Foreclosures usually take at least a couple of months to bring to market, and by that time the hot temperatures may mean you will have to schedule a trip to the local nursery once you move in to replace your burned out landscaping.
- Sellers are usually very cooperative. They rarely fight you on seller contributions for closing costs, because they don’t care. They are not getting any money from the proceeds of the sale anyway. They are very appreciative of you as the buyer, because you (and your money!) are their ticket out of an impossible situation.
Most of the information out there about short sales is all negative; the pitfalls, drawbacks, etc., and very little about the upside. That is the purpose of this article, to show the benefits. To understand more about the short sales, continue to read through our blog as many topics regarding short sales here in the Las Vegas valley are covered. For immediate assistance, please give us a call at 702-376-0088.
About the Author
Paul Rowe is a real estate investor and REALTOR® with Shelter Realty Inc. He can be reached at (702) 376-7379. With hundreds of short sales negotiated successfully over the past 12 years, Paul works exclusively with distressed property owners and potential foreclosure and short sale victims in Southern Nevada who owe more on their mortgage than their property will appraise for.