Ok... We are ready for a Realtor!! (short sales, foreclosures)

[bearz]

My family and I are headed down for a vacation in two weeks and want to spend a Saturday morning looking at several houses in the Dr. Phillips area...

Is it best to call each Realtor and set up a time with them? I have a list of houses we really want to see, with a short time to see them....

Also is there a place to look for foreclosures? I thought I read something about Florida speeding up the purchasing process, some 10 day deadline? Has that begun and is the new plan working? Does putting 80% of the house down help speed things up with short sales?

Thanks for any guidance!!

[imtfrenzy]

My wife and I just moved down and loved our broker. His name is Greg Traub. I am sure that he will see this and respond to you. You should talk to him. He knows the entire area very well and is a all around good guy. PM me if you want his contact info. He walked us thru our short sale and we got a great deal.

[Broker Dave]

Call a couple of agents and see how you interact with them, my wife (realtor/broker) and I (realtor/broker) would be happy to help.

Need to call each home to set up and grill them on the short sale as to where they are in the process and have they done short sales in the past. Also are they negotiating direct with the bank or using a third party, some banks are now ignoring third parties period!

You can put 80% as cash due at closing; get a 'Proof of Funds' from your bank before you leave because the bank requires this when the offer is placed. Indicate a higher escrow which will be collected and placed in a secure 'Escrow Account' only when the bank approves the short sale offer you placed, if any problems pop up during the inspection process you will get this money back. Also a short closing timeline will get their attention; there are other clauses and checks we've learned along the way.

I do a good number of these and spend time with buyers and sellers in the Dr. Phillips area.

Hope this helps,