I live in central Florida and picked up a pre-foreclosure through a "short sale" (bank takes a hit to move the property) in January. I want to buy a couple more but forecasts are predicting even more drops in value in the next 6-9 months. Just FYI, the market sucks so damn bad here, almost all realtors have been forced to become short-sale and foreclosure experts. Those are the only types of sales occuring in this market.
By the time a home has been taken by the mortgage holder (usually 3 missed monthly payments plus another 7+ months waiting for a foreclosure hearing) then listed as a bank owned property, yeah.....they're not too pretty. So rather than add to their huge inventory, banks are pushing short sales harder than ever. Just contact a realtor in that area and say you're interested in short sale properties. You basically throw an offer out on the table regardless of what the seller owes, and the bank says yes or no. I've heard of banks taking 50% of a home's appraised value just to avoid a lengthy and expensive foreclosure process. Good thing about this type of sale is, the homes are still in good condition.
