When you're talking to a realtor about real estate in Charlotte, NC you're probably going to hear them mention Charlotte short sales. What are these? What do they mean? Most importantly, as the buyer, how do they affect you?

A home is sold as a short sale when the seller is attempting to convince a lender to accept a discounted payoff in exchange for releasing the mortgage. This is usually done in order to prevent a home from being foreclosed upon, with the opinion that any money is better than no money. These homes can be a buyer's dream come true, since 99% of the time short sales sell for far less than their fair market value.

There are a few buyer bewares you should be aware of before you hop in line to place a bid for a Charlotte short sale, however. The first thing you need to know is that just because a seller accepts your offer, that doesn't necessarily mean that the lender will-something you may not find out about until after you've cut them a check.

A short sale will be handled by the financial institution in Charlotte that is managing the mortgage on the home, and it will only be approved if the seller has absolutely no other equity. It's important that you be aware of the fact that you will be dealing with the financial institution because there are many sellers who will take advantage of the buyer's inexperience when they're dealing with a short sale. They attempt to convince the buyer to slip them money "on the side and off the record" in order to help them secure the sale, often disguising it as a good faith deposit.

Heads up buyers! This is fraud. The seller is probably going to pocket that money to make a profit off of the sale that they have no right to. The seller doesn't make any money off of a short sale because the lender is losing money by agreeing to it .You can rest assured that the seller is not going to agree to lose money on a deal, then willingly hand over money to the person or people responsible for the loss in the first place.

Before you do anything with a short sale find a Charlotte real estate agent to help you handle the transaction. They should be familiar with the practice of short sales so that they can navigate the massive amounts of red tape that are going to be involved and ensure that you as the buyer don't end up losing money on the deal before the property is legally deeded over to you.

Don't be surprised if the lender doesn't agree to your first deposit when you're handling a short sale. Remember, they're doing their best to make a profit off of a deal for which they're already losing money-they're going to take every chance they can get to close the margin. This isn't unusual, and it shouldn't cause you any concern. Be aware that often a short sale will have to be approved by a committee rather than a single loan officer, a process which may tie up the works for several weeks but shouldn't stall them altogether. If you find you're being dragged along by a lender that cannot make a decision with regard to the sale it's time to politely withdraw your offer and move on.

Short sales can be a great way to get a good deal on Charlotte real estate, but they should be handled with care. With the proper agent guiding the way many of the inherent dangers can be eliminated, and you will find yourself well on your way to owning prime real estate in one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

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