Foreclosure - Short Sale - REO or Bank Owned

Have you ever wondered what all those terms mean? I have to tell you it can be very confusing... As an active real estate agent in Long Beach I see these terms each and every day. My clients however do not; however they hear about them.

There are many real estate websites out there where you see these terms... many of these sites are made to lead you on in order to collect your information to have you bothered by an agent. These lucky agents get to pay for your information.... But the worst part is much of this information is not accurate or old.

My website is updated daily from our local MLS so the information is hot... Many of my clients love my free listingbook site to use as a tool to find their new home. You are welcome to look to your hearts content and I will never bother you unless you ask for help.

But what this post is about are those terms.... Everyone wants a deal... and believe me they are out there. If it is a deal too good to be true... they normally are just that. Many of the homes in foreclosure process are almost destroyed and many of them you would not even be able to get a loan on...

When some one defaults on their mortgage (that is falls behind on their payments) the foreclosure process begins. This process takes a few short months before they will loose their home.

Right now we have many people in Long Beach who are trying to sell their homes through a process known as "Short Sale", in other words the bank maybe willing to take a lesser amount than owed.

The problem with Short Sales is they can take forever to go through the process and just may not even happen at all. Some of the prices on the Short Sales are way below what the bank may be willing to take. And finally the owner must prove they cannot make the payments anymore.

And finally for those who have done what they could they end up as an REO or Bank Owned Property.

When taking clients out I prefer to show them only the REO properties to save the disappointments they go through. You can see these properties on my website http://www.jeffhallrealtor.com/ Take a look, what can it hurt. Have fun... Jeff