With the recent fall in the housing market many homebuyers and investors have found that they can save a great deal of money by looking at both foreclosed and short sale properties. However, before considering either of these options you will want to consult with a Tampa realtor to help guide you through these two exceptional purchasing opportunities.

In theory, foreclosures and short sales are basically the same thing, but they are in different stages of the same process. Foreclosure is a word that describes the legal process involved with the lender taking legal title away from the current owner and defaulted borrower. Short sales are a lender-negotiated transaction that takes place prior to the foreclosure court proceedings, in an effort to save costs and hedge against additional losses. Once the bank has foreclosed on a home, it becomes known as an “REO” property, which stands for “real estate owned”.

Many homebuyers are ill-equipped to negotiate these types of transactions on their own and there can be many surprises or delays, unless you have the expert advice needed to properly take advantage of these substantially-discounted properties. Because Tampa housing values have decreased significantly in recent years, many amateur investors have become involved in purchasing Tampa foreclosures. As a home buyer, you may be surprised to know that short sales make up a significant percentage of current home sale transactions.

Short sales can take additional time to complete; therefore purchasing a Tampa bank owned homes has advantages. Homes owned by the bank can get to the closing in 30 days or less, whereas short sale negotiations can be extended by months, as the lenders have a backlog of these types of transactions on their books.

Recent statistics indicate that 35% of the active homes for sale are distressed sales. While 29% were the result of short sales and only 6% are owned by the banks. You can see that there are still a lot of foreclosures in the market, even though negotiations can take a long time compared to conventional transactions.

As a homebuyer, it is possible to find discounts when searching in the Tampa Bay area, even in conventional purchases. While there remain many homes for sale below their market value, the foreclosure market appears to still be booming in the Tampa area. Although the short sales are reducing the number of new foreclosures on the market, it is possible to find great discounts, some of which are on homes in need of substantial repair. Sometimes these situations, although a bit chancier, can help a homebuyer to save a considerable amount of money, depending of course of your tolerance level.

Although half or the properties in the Tampa market are distressed short sale or foreclosure situations, there is not really any improvement in how the banks are handling the abundance of short sale or foreclosed homes with the average short sale taking 60 to 90 days. However, keep in mind that some banks may be a little quicker and others are a lot longer.

The Tampa housing market seems to be taking a positive turn, as less distressed sellers are listing their properties and there are fewer lender owned properties being offered. As the banks catch-up on the backlog of files the turnaround time is decreasing for a lot of the discounted home buying opportunities. However, patience is still necessary if you wish to take advantage of these discounted opportunities.

Lance Mohr is a specialist in the Tampa real estate market with more than 13 years experience as a Realtor. If you have any questions or are looking for an hard working Realtor give me a call. For details on Tampa homes for sale or Tampa home prices please visit our website at www.Tampa2Enjoy.com.

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