I think you should stay away from short sales. They are just too messy and slow for any perceptible benefit in this market. If you focus on REOs, you can do much better. In fact, I suggest, focus ONLY on REOs (and not even regular sales). If everyone just bought REOs, the short sale mess will resolve itself fast. Banks will be encouraged to convert more of the defaults into REOs and put it on market faster. Prices will also find their natural equilibrium levels much faster.