It’s still a little too soon, but in my opinion the best bet in the land of REOs and short sales will be to buy from the homeowner who is competing against these foreclosures and short sales. The folks who still have enough equity and are taking advantage of the down market to move up or are moving out due to job/relocation. Based on my experience in the mid 1990’s those folks tend to make their house in mint condition and still have to price it within 5% of the REOs because of the competition. That’s where I would focus. Currently there are still too many sellers that are holding out. Once these folks capitulate, the situation I describe will become the norm.
