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  Some of my clients have been asking me about short sales lately, so I wanted to take a moment and describe them to you. They were very common a few years ago when the market crashed, but we have not seen as many of them lately. 
A short sale is when the total amount of mortgages and liens exceed the true value of the home, so the home is upside down in value. Onemisconception I hear from buyers is that they want to look at short sale properties because they want a good deal on a home. This is incorrect because a bank must approve the short sale, not the seller. Thismeans that the bank does their own appraisal and they assign a market value. If the home is in need of repair, they might come off the market value a bit, but overall, short sales do not mean good deals. 
Another consideration in a short sale is that you have to negotiate with the bank. Even if the seller agrees with the sale price, it still goes to the bank for approval, which can take 3-9 months.
Irarely advise my buyers to look into short sales because there is so much that goes on behind the scenes. There is a lot more that we could talk about in regards to short sales, and I'd be happy to sit down with you and discuss this in greater detail.

As always, if you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Tampa Bay, please don't hesitate to contact me!