Q: All real estate agents are the same.

A: False. Just speak to a few to discover the who's who.

Q: Negotiating an offer, or lowball offers on foreclosures.

A: Everything in real estate is negotiable. However, banks are more sophisticated about pricing than they were several years ago. The banks pricing, negotiation, and final acceptance are all related to numbers. The "Get a great deal on a foreclosure!" days aren't what they used to be. Lowball offers generally don't go very far.

Q: What is the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure?

A: Short sales are not foreclosures. If someone has said they are, it is simply not true. Short sales are sellers who are behind on their mortgage payments and have asked the bank if they can sell their home for less than what they owe, the seller is still owner of the home. One must be careful of these because agents can price these homes aggressively without any approval from the bank, who holds the rights to sell the home. Foreclosure’s are strictly corporate owned, the bank has determined the price by a BPO (Broker price opinion) and appraisal. The asking price is what they feel fair market value. *Also see lowball offers above in relation to this pricing.

For those who like examples:

Nationwide Bank lends money to an individual to purchase a home. Investors (such as the popular Bear Stearns) purchase this mortgage from Nationwide Bank. Not only do they purchase this one mortgage, they purchase a number of mortgages all in one group, like a portfolio. Nationwide Bank is still the collector of this note. When an individual cannot make their payments, Nationwide Bank has to ask for monies to be removed from the portfolio of mortgages to cover the cost of the seller who defaulted.