SAN FRANCISCO, January 6, 2010–Trulia.com (www.trulia.com ), smart real estate search to help you make better decisions, focused 2009 on providing users with the most relevant and consumer centric experience. As a result, Trulia grew to become one of the Top 5 Real Estate sites on the web according to Hitwise Rankings (November 2009). Last year was Trulia’s largest ever with a total of 62.3 million unique monthly visitors searching for homes, market insights and participating on Trulia Voices.

During the past year, millions of consumers came to Trulia to make sense of the real estate market, spending more time than ever looking at properties and price trend information. Consumer engagement reached record levels: visits grew by more than 45%, total page views grew by 105% and property views grew by more than 130%, according to internal data. On Trulia Voices, consumer questions doubled year over year. Along with increased engagement on Trulia, consumer interest in homes exploded, with nearly 1 million home buyer inquiries sent to real estate agents in 2009.

During the past year, Trulia focused on four key areas for product innovation and enhancements: smarter search, personalization, rich property & local data and mobile. Here is a recap of the key initiatives and highlights from the past 12 months.

Price Reduction–A search tool that allows home buyers, sellers, agents, investors and real estate junkies to search for price reductions on Trulia. Users have the ability to receive real-time email updates when homes in their search area have been reduced, or filter their search by the percentage reduced or date of the price reduction.

Compare It!–Allows consumers to compare up to five different properties side-by-side. Users can see all the key attributes of each listing and then eliminate the properties they don’t like and save the ones they do like for future reference. Users can compare key attributes, like price per square foot to the size of the lot, and make educated decisions on what property suits them best.

MyTrulia–significant enhancements have been added to MyTrulia to make home searches more relevant for every individual home buyer. From saved searches to email alerts, Trulia will immediately notify users if a property they are interested in changes price or is sold. If a similar property comes on the market, Trulia will also notify users of the new home. Trulia also introduced “checklist” to help keep track of all things related to your home buying process and helps you make sense of the entire process.

Local Newsfeed–Trulia’s homepage provide consumers with a snapshot of activity in the neighborhoods they are most interested in tracking with a quick-glance. When a user comes to Trulia, the homepage is updated with price reductions, upcoming open houses, new homes on the market and market data such as average list prices, sales data, foreclosure information and more–only in the areas relevant to that user.

Home Price History & Data–Trulia’s product detail pages now includes each homes price history, including sold transactions, listing prices and price reductions. Trulia also added school information and rankings, crime data, competitive mortgage offerings; with a click of a button you can also see all the restaurants, grocery stores, banks and gas stations nearby any individual home.

Neighborhood Coverage–Trulia increased its neighborhood coverage by more than 300%. The expanded coverage improves property search and map displays to help consumers search for and compare neighborhoods, view and track neighborhood market trends, receive advice from local market experts through blogs and Q&A, and find local real estate professionals.

iPhone and iPod touch–the updated Trulia application offers more than 3.5 million homes for sale and has been downloaded more than 300,000 times by real estate enthusiasts, engaged buyers and sellers and real estate agents. The update adds significant new features:

Dynamic Maps–Visual searchers can toggle the map to find homes in areas they most desire. Once the area is defined in the map, a new set of homes that match their criteria is delivered.

Price Reduction Search–With a touch of a button, users can now search for all price reduced homes in their area.

Bigger, Unlimited Pictures–Taking advantage of the fantastic screens on the iPhone and iPod touch, the bigger photos provide searchers with a realistic view of the property.

Augmented Reality Browser Integration–Trulia has integrated with the Layar Mobile Augmented Reality Browser to overlay listings on top of the mobile phone’s camera view. The app allows you to scan all the properties available around you while you look at the actual buildings through your screen.

Trulia for all smartphones–Trulia has also launched a mobile version of its website, m.trulia.com, which delivers all the power and functionality of the web site in a format optimized for mobile handsets. The mobile website works on all mobile handsets from the Blackberry to the Plam Pre and all devices with a web browser, including the iPhone and iPod Touch. Users can search homes for sale, view extensive property details, find price reductions or upcoming open houses, utilize their MyTrulia account, and the Trulia Voices community.

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Real Estate Investing Faqs

There is something exciting at the prospect of real estate investing. This is particularly so if you have had the opportunity to own you own home and are now able to reap the benefits of the equity that it built up. It is imperative though that you learn some important real estate investing faqs before you make your investment. You must know that Investing in your private residence is not near as demanding as investing in other forms of real estate. Here are some real estate investing faqs to help get you started on your real estate investment adventure.

• Faq #1 Know your limits. This means you need to know just how much you can comfortably invest. You don’t want to put yourself in a position where you overburden yourself financially. If you are in a position to pay cash out right for your investment, then you don’t have as much of a concern about carrying charges. If on the other hand you have put down a substantial down payment you will still have the monthly carrying costs. You will need to be sure these fit into your budget.
• Faq#2 Know what kind of property investment you want to venture into. You are going to need to determine whether you want a simple type of investment or something more complex. For example you could consider investing in a personal residence where you can add an addition or put in a basement apartment as a means of real estate investment. Then you could decide that you want to invest in a multi unit apartment. As you can see there are many choices when it comes to real estate investment.
• Faq#3 Know what you are buying. If this is your first real estate investment, make sure you do your research. Be sure that you are in a position that any decision you have to make is an informed one.
• Faq #4 Know the area that you are buying in. Make sure that it is feasible and productive for the type of property you are considering investing in. For example if you are thinking of buying some commercial stores, is there enough population around it to support it? These are just the starting real estate investing faqs that you must educate yourself with. Be sure to seek out as many different areas of expertise that you need before making your final decision on your real estate investment.

About the Author:

I invite you to learn more about Real Estate Investing and join our FREE weekly tele-seminar class by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/TuesdayTipsSignUp.html Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. To learn more go to http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/

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Beginners Real Estate Investing

If you have some extra cash that you are looking at to invest then you’re going to find that there are many options available to you. One of these such options will be real estate investing. Chances are you have already been involved in this type of investing if you have owned your own home. Beginners real estate investing adventures are of a much different nature though.

This is now going to be an extension of that type of investment where you are buying a secondary piece of real estate as a means of investment. No doubt if this is a new venture for you there are many things that you’re going to need to learn. Beginners real estate investment tactics are not complicated but are necessary.

• Step 1 First of all you are going to find that there are many types of real estate venues to invest in and it is going to be a matter of several choices that you are going to be facing.
• - One of the biggest questions that will rise is what type of investment are you going to become involved in.
• - You can do something as simple as buy a home where you can rent out a basement apartment as a form of investment or you can even purchase a second house that you are simply going to rent out or you can run it as a boarding house for example
• - Then you always have the option of buying a small apartment building to begin with where you have a few apartments and tenants care for.
• - You can venture into the commercial properties for example where you can rent out perhaps a store on one level and an apartment on another.

As you can see there are many options available for you when it comes to real estate investing.

• Step #2 But before you venture into beginners real estate investing into any of these opportunities that we have outline you really need to do your homework and start from the beginning to learn what real estate investing is all about.
• - You need to know just how much money you are going to have to invest in and if it’s going to be enough that you won’t need to acquire extra funds.
• - You need to be able to do a full study of the investment that you are thinking of entering into as far as your property investment goals. Is it going to give you a good return?

These are just the starting factors to begin with to even think about real estate investing. So your very first decision is making the one that you want to go ahead and do this and then start looking at all the different options as far as the pros and cons of the different type of investments you can do. These are the first steps in beginners real estate investing.

About the Author: I invite you to learn more about Real Estate Investing and join our FREE weekly tele-seminar class by going to http://www.realestatewealthtoday.com/TuesdayTipsSignUp.html Mike Lautensack is a full-time real estate entrepreneur, coach and mentor and creator of the Private Lending Presentation Kit. To learn more go to http://www.learnrealestateinvestingblog.com/

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Investing: Types of Investors for your Multifamily Deals

The word “investor” is quite a general term that means different things to different people. Dictionary.com defines an investor as “someone who commits capital in order to gain financial returns”. So what does this mean in terms of real estate investing? There are three types of investors: lending, equity and hybrid (or combination). Here is a breakdown of these three types of investors.

A lending investor is someone who will loan you money on a multifamily apartment deal. You will pay them an interest rate and you retain 100% ownership of the property. You will pay them back on certain terms at a certain time.

An equity investor is someone who will give you the money but they want a percent ownership in the property. In return, they get a percentage of the cash flow and a percentage of the appreciation. They are going to cost you more money but they may have some other benefits such as not requiring any monthly cash flow.

A Hybrid or combination investor is someone who can receive an interest rate and equity participation in the project.

From the investor’s point of view, whether they choose to be a lending, equity or hybrid investor depends on their investing needs. We are talking about mutual needs. Do they need monthly income or do they desire something for the future? It is a meeting of the two objectives and this is where you get down to their investor profile. You want to match your multifamily investment product to their profile.

The documentation for the type of investor will vary. This is in reference to once they have committed to the multifamily apartment deal and the documents that you will put up to define the transaction and to create the promissory note and security instrument. This will be easier with a lending investor.

All three of these types of investors have merit. As a general rule, lending investors are preferred because you do not have to pay as much return. Equity investors are going to end up costing you more money but they may have the benefit of not needing any monthly cash flow.

One type of investor is not necessarily better than another. It really is dependent on what suits your investng needs at that point in time. Generally speaking, you will pay less return with a lending investor.

Knowing what investor you need to deal with on a project is very important. If you know the type of investor you are dealing with then you will know how to “package” the product. You will be able to determine how to match your multifamily apartment investment product to their needs and meet your needs as well.

About the Author: Think you need big cash and experience to do apartments? Well, Lance Edwards is living proof that you can start with multifamily investing – just like he did and using none of his own money. Utilizing the multifamily apartment strategies he now teaches and writes about, Lance retired from his job in July, 2005. For more information on how you can achieve financial freedom using other people’s money, visit http://www.ApartmentWealthMachine.com

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Achieve Your Financial Dreams Investing in Real Estate with Hard Money Rehab Loans

Investing in real estate has always been a consistent method of making money. Most individuals who have amassed large fortunes have usually done so through real estate in one way or another. Most people think the real estate market is in bad shape and it is impossible to make money in real estate during the current economy, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Now is the perfect time for investors to get started in real estate rehabbing and achieve their financial dreams.

What is real estate rehabbing?

Real estate rehabbing (sometimes referred to as “flipping houses”) is the process of buying houses or small multi unit properties in various states of disrepair that may never get sold, fixing them up, and then selling them for profit.

How can I get started with real estate rehab?

The first step of real estate rehab is just a basic investing lesson: Buy low, sell high. You want to find an undervalued property that is in just bad enough shape that you can invest as little time and money into it as possible before selling it. Some distressed properties may just be outdated with obsolete appliances. The next step could be a little more difficult: finding funding. Conventional lenders do not work well financing rehab projects because of time constraints and the condition of the underlying collateral. They also can’t sell these loans on the secondary market, making them unprofitable transactions.

The best options for financing a real estate rehab project are private equity hard money rehab loans from a lender that specializes in helping real estate investors or mortgage brokers leverage their capital. Always use a direct private lender who can fund loans within 2 weeks and make sure they offer rehab home loans or investor rehab loans designed for investors with special circumstances and/or special needs with an easy submission process, fast underwriting and quick closings.

How much money should I spend on a rehab property?

Always prepare a rehab budget and keep your rehab expenditures simple without getting into major construction. Keep acquisition prices very low, around 40-60% of A.R.V. (After Repaired Value), and don’t be afraid to make multiple offers on multiple properties to get the best deal. Be prepared to walk from as many as 10 deals before landing just one prospective property.

How can I keep repair costs down?

It can be tough to keep repair costs down, but try to stay away from major roofing, H.V.A.C., electrical, or plumbing, these can get out of control and eat any profit margin you might have gained. Keep products simple and inexpensive. Use new cost effective appliances, lights, fixtures, and paints from well known and inexpensive home improvement retailers. Work with small mom and pop handyman services that can perform most of your repairs. These companies have low overhead, generally complete the work themselves, and can provide you with the best price, often with the best and fastest service.

Anything else I need to know?

Yes, of course! There’s so much to know and learn about real estate rehab, this article is only the tip of the iceberg. Real estate rehab investors must have strict organizational and computer skills, and exposure to real estate, construction or maintenance, and finance are always a plus! You must have a keen understanding of your local real estate market, and of course you must have a good lender who specializes in hard money rehab loans for purchase, rehab and resell of distressed properties. Last but not least, always have a back up exit strategy to either sell, or refinance and rent the property within 6 months from initial purchase.

Now more than ever is the perfect time for investors to get started and achieve their financial dreams and take advantage of all the distressed properties flooding the market in 2009 and 2010. With the right financing, and a great hard money rehab loan real estate rehabbing can be very rewarding and financially lucrative. Get started finding a rehab loan lender and start building your fortune today!

About the Author: http://www.zincfinancial.net/ is a leading rehab loans lender, helping investors leverage their capital to acquire and rehab properties for investment purposes. ZINC understands that investors can’t wait for conventional financing and must close deals quickly; they are a direct lender of hard money rehab loans, so decisions are made fast, providing for expedited property turn a rounds and faster profits for investors.

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Bulk REO Investing The Easy Way

The waves of foreclosures sweeping across the nation have been nothing short of catastrophic for many homeowners, but the current turmoil in the world economy has at the same time opened up many new opportunities for savvy real estate investors to build wealth. Since there are simply so many properties on the market right now and prices are so low; especially for foreclosed properties, there may never have been a better time than this very moment for getting into property investment. Similarly, there may never have been a better time to make a killing in this market.

One of the new opportunities that has been made available for investors looking to make the best of a bad situation is the exciting possibility of investing in REO properties and especially bulk REO properties. There are many investors who are making substantial profits with these investments as well as forward-looking investors who are purchasing these bulk properties and holding on to them or improving these properties, waiting for the market to strengthen before selling for an incredible profit.

If you’d like to learn more about how real estate investors are making lemonade out of the lemons of the foreclosure crisis and currently weak US real estate market, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading for a look at what bulk REO investing is and how it is done – and for that matter, what REO property is in the first place.

As you’ve probably figured out by now, REO investing has to do with foreclosed property; but what is the relationship between foreclosure and REO property?

Since the foreclosure process itself is something that you are already somewhat familiar with, we can probably safely skip over this part. As you know, foreclosed properties are generally sold at a public auction if the homeowner is unable to become current with their payments before the grace period provided for in their state has run out.

Most of the time, these properties find a willing buyer at this auction; or more to the point, this used to be the case. The huge number of foreclosures currently going up for auction has meant that a lot of these foreclosed properties end up going through the auction without being sold. So what happens then?

Properties which don’t find a buyer during the public auction are then the property of the bank or other lender who hold the mortgage for the property. This property is referred to by lenders as Real Estate Owned, or REO for short. This creates something of a problem for the lender; by and large, financial institutions are in the financial services business, not the real estate business. As far as a bank is concerned, a piece of real estate is an underperforming asset at best and evidence of a poor investment at worst. This means that these institutions are generally very eager to be rid of these properties.

What these lenders usually do is to contact a real estate agent in their area and list these properties for sale; but of course given the state of the real estate market at present, this isn’t always a reliable way to get the property off of their books. Since the lender is so eager to sell these properties, they will generally accept a far lower price than the property is worth. Many lenders maintain an asset management department whose responsibility it is to get these properties off of the bank’s ledgers. One strategy used by banks to do this is to bundle these REO properties into a bulk package, with each property being priced at only cents on the dollar.

Naturally, these bulk REO investments are an amazing opportunity for real estate investors who want to maximize their returns. An investor who has the know-how to find these bulk REO properties for sale and has access to the financing needed has the ability to do very well as an investor. Since the price of these properties is simply so low, the investor can turn around and sell the properties through a real estate agent, rent them for a sustained income, improve the properties or simply hold on to them, waiting for housing prices to rise before making their move.

Since there is an enormous amount of money to be made in the bulk REO market, it’s a type of investment which anyone looking to invest in property should consider. However, new investors especially may need some assistance in closing the deal – if this is your first time dealing with bulk REO investments, you’ll probably want to seek out an experienced real estate broker who has the skills, experience and contacts which can help you make this process a smooth one and your investment lucrative.

About the Author: Duncan Wierman is a founding members of “Bank REO Property Deals, his company is connecting sellers of verifiable” product with qualified buyers. If you are interested in learning more about Bulk REO investing, his site also contains great information about how to started, interviews with other experts, along with sample sanitized tapes to review. Visit: http://www.BankREOPropertyDeals.com

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Distressed Real Estate

What exactly does the term “distressed real estate” mean?

Any property that is under foreclosure or is advertised for sale by its mortgage holder can be described as distressed property, or distressed real estate. When distressed property is sold, its selling prices is usually much below its market value in a normal sale.

In today’s market, a property is said to be distressed when a homeowner gets behind on their mortgage or tax payments and the lender or appropriate debt collector begins to start the necessary proceedings to sell the home in order to collect the outstanding debt. The process for selling these properties varies from state to state depending on your local jurisdiction, and therefore the period of time a home may fall under this category can last anywhere from a few weeks to a year, more recently as long as 18 months.

As there are many types of homes, there are many types of distressed homes. As a matter of fact, distressed real estate can range from commercial space to apartments and apartment buildings. The term applies to homes and other properties at any stage of the foreclosure process, or even if the property has been foreclosed and abandoned for some time. Ofen, distressed properties may be left vacant or boarded up, and in many parts of the country large numbers of these properties have turned many communities into eyesores. Any property that is under-maintained can be characterized as distressed real estate.

In most cases, distressed real estate can provide great opportunities for investors to buy these properties at tremendous discounts, often ranging anywhere from 30 to 60% off their actual market value.

Typically, owners of distressed real estate grow tired of the hassles of their financial problems and the upkeep of the property. Frequently, a deterioration in the owner’s financial stability has led to this problem. As we all know, the present economic circumstances have produced many such changes. Distressed real estate includes the situations described above, as well as those properties marketed as Short Sales and REO/Bank Owned. Short sales are those properties in which the owner attempts to sell, with the bank’s approval, for less than what is owed on the property in order to avoid foreclosure. Distressed properties that are already owned by a bank or REO were acquired through a foreclosure.

As a result of the most recent economic disaster, the quantity of distressed real estate has dramatically increased and it will continue to do so over the next five years.

About the Author: Contact the W.C. Featherstone Company if you would like a quick sale of your distressed real estate, or if you would like to invest in distressed real estate. The company specializes in the purchase of distressed real estate and resale at below market prices to investors, operating in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

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Bouncing Back from Foreclosure or Short Sale

If you have recently lost possession of your house to a painful foreclosure or short sale, there’s a chance you may be able to afford a new home within the next two years if you get on it right away and stay diligent and dedicated to fixing your credit rating. Whether you were able to get your lender to agree to a short sale, or you had to resort to the worse blow of foreclosure, if you get started rebuilding right away, you can take steps to re-polish your tarnished credit report.

You should definitely go over the details of your credit report- you need to know exactly where you are right now. You can get a free report through many venues, and you should double-check with your own records for accuracy. And if you find any egregious (or even small) problems, you should bring it up right away. If you have other old debts, you should pay them off as quickly as humanly possible. Forgo buying anything that’s not a necessity and pay off your credit card or car, because those little things can help.

Watch out for scammers who purport they’ll help you repair your credit Don’t pay anyone to do anything illegal, and don’t pay someone before you’re completely certain what service they’ll be providing you.

Double-check the status of the shortsale you did. Make sure that your account shows the zero you deserve for allowing your mortgage lender to accept a payoff for less than what you owed. You went through the struggle of a short sale, and if they don’t write it off as a zero, you need to make sure the discrepancy is addressed.

Of course, you can’t just automatically assume that your short sale is obligation-free. IT depends on your lender- some will automatically file a deficiency judgment and make you pay some portion of the discrepancy between what you earned on the escrow and what you owe the bank. Also- the federal government may be able to tax this difference, if the bank DOES pay for it, as income. Make sure you’re clear on the stipulations of your lender and the federal tax code.

The point is, after the emotional roller-coaster of having to give up your home, you need to stay on top of your finances. If you’re responsible and diligent, you might be able to get yourself a new home in just a few short years. But make sure it’s with a loan you can afford to pay!

About the Author: For more information on shortsale or foreclosure issues, ask the experts at http://www.accesslossmitigation.com

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An Introduction To Investing In Bulk REOs

If you’re new to the idea of investing in REO property, as is likely to be the case if you’re reading this article, you may still be wondering exactly what these properties you’ve heard so much about are and how exactly they’re a good value for the property investor. You might also want to know if this is a type of property investment which is suitable for novice investors. If these are the questions on your mind, then this article is for you. We’ll cover what a REO property is, how to invest in these properties in bulk and hopefully by the time we’ve finished, you’ll have a good idea of whether these investments are right for you. So without any further delay, let’s get to the first question.

What Is REO Property?

In case you’re not familiar with the term, REO stands for Real Estate Owned. This is property which has reverted into the hands of a lender; this is almost invariably a bank, credit union or other financial institution following an unsuccessful attempt to sell the property at a foreclosure auction. The banks or lenders then attempt to sell these properties as quickly as possible, since as far as their ledgers are concerned, foreclosed property is a liability, not an asset. Of course, banks aren’t in the real estate business in the first place, so it’s in their best interests to rid themselves of this property.

OK, So What’s Bulk REO Property?

Larger financial institutions especially are often left with a large number of REO properties on their hands, especially now in the wake of the credit crunch and the waves of foreclosures which preceded it. Banks are eager to pass on these properties to buyers, often selling them for greatly discounted prices. Where the idea of bulk property comes into the picture is when real estate brokers and investors will make offers to these institutions to purchase several properties at once for an even lower price.

Why Is Bulk REO Property A Good Investment?

Since the banks need to get rid of these bad investments to get them off of their books and since the housing market is still somewhat soft, there are some excellent values to be had for the forward looking investor or investors who are interested in making a rental income off of these bulk REO properties. Of course, given the very low prices at which these properties can be purchased in bulk, investors can still make a tidy sum by selling these homes even as-is; many REO properties tend to be in need of a little fixing up, but at their price they’re still most often a great bargain.

Are Bulk REOs Something Which Newcomers To Property Investment Should Involve Themselves With?

The answer I usually give to this question (which I’m asked quite a bit) is no – unless these investors are looking to make money. Bulk REOs represent an incredible investment opportunity and there are quite a few novice real estate investors who are already making a substantial amount of money from these investments; and others who are holding on to these properties, waiting for market conditions to improve before selling for even larger profits. Whether you’re an old hand at real estate or you’ve never purchased an investment property before, bulk REOs are something which you should at least consider investing in.

So How Do I Find These Bulk REO Properties For Sale?

That’s often the most challenging question, especially for people who aren’t experienced in the real estate market. There are several ways to go about it, most involving a lot of research. The important thing to remember about real estate investment, whether we’re talking about newly built commercial property or bulk REOs is this – it’s a numbers game. If there was one thing I want people to take away from this article it’s that.

You need to make lots of offers and deal with lots of different banks and other lenders, brokers or asset management personnel and do some investigating to identify properties which interest you. Especially if you’re new to property investments, you may be better off dealing with a reputable broker who has contacts with lender asset managers and is experienced in handling bulk REO purchases. Just do a little research ahead of time to make sure you’re doing business with someone who’s going to make sure that you’re treated fairly in this transaction – other than that, I hope I’ve answered some of your questions about bulk REO investments and I wish you the best of luck and profitable investing!

About the Author:

Duncan Wierman is a founding members of “Bank REO Property Deals, his company is connecting sellers of verifiable” product with qualified buyers. If you are interested in learning more about Bulk REO investing, his site also contains great information about how to started, interviews with other experts, along with sample sanitized tapes to review. Visit: http://www.BankREOPropertyDeals.com

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Short Sale Buying and Selling

If you’re thinking of getting a short sale done for your in-trouble home to avoid a foreclosure, you should know that a bank is not obligated to sell your house. When a bank or lending institution decides to do a short sale, they have to basically eat the difference between the amount of the loan you owe and the proceeds from the escrow, which will necessarily be less. They don’t like doing this. A potential buyer can go through all of the rigamaroll of paperwork to pay for inspections, make an offer, put down the deposit, and get the sale process started. But as soon as they make an offer, the bank might then go ahead and attempt to convince you that you aught to refinance your home loan and stay in your house, so that the bank can avoid having to eat the discrepancy between selling price and what you.

But, a short sale contract in and of itself includes a stipulation by which a bank must approve the sale. A seller can get their money back in you are persuaded to refinance instead of making the short sale. The problem with this is that it ties up months of the buyer’s time and money, and the buyer has to basically start all over again. So any buyer that needs to get a house in a specific neighborhood or has time pressures may be inclined to go for a foreclosure house instead.

Buyers will look for clues in a short sale to help assure then that the bank (or you) are not going to pull out at the last minute. If you’ve moved out of the house, a seller will be much more likely to want to buy form you, because that suggests that you will not be swayed to try to refinance your house instead of selling it in a short sale. If you’re concerned that buyers aren’t making offers, consider moving out of the house or making efforts to make it look as if you are currently in the process of doing so, and you may have much more luck.

Another thing is to make sure your listing has the stamp of approval: “Bank Approved Short Sale”, which signals to potential buyers that the bank has approved the short sale, and only one need do so, so that the buyer knows your insurer or other parties aren’t involved and won’t tie up the process.

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