There also may be outstanding liens on the property that have not yet been identified as well so it is a little bit more difficult to identify if it is a deal from that aspect or not. As FSD said, concentrate on whether the house for the price is a good deal, regardless of short sale, preforeclosure etc. This is the very best advice.
As homes fall further into the default process, the less you can expect from the listing agent with regards to service if you are a buyer. For instance, in a normal sale, if you work directly with the listing agent, what little service and support you get becomes miniscule in a short sale. In a foreclosure not only do you get no service, you will be asked to sign off an ANY liability because the lender owns the home and the disclosures are meaningless. In all fairness how can a lender even disclose any information about the house if they never occupied it.
I am not saying foreclosures and short sales are not potential great deals. IMO they are BUT I am disappointed that they have not been priced aggressively yet…Hopefully as time marches on this will change.
