Re: Question re buying from auction vs REO?

Nobody who is buying for profit at trustee's sale buys a property that is worth 420K for $396. Trustee's sale buyers don't buy for a 5% discount.

I also want to suggest that you don't project your idea of profit on to anyone. I doubt you know the true costs (and risks) of buying a property at trustee's sale for $396K cash. There's no profit if they sell at $420K.

Like I said, the true challenge is that you need a conventional loan and right now cash is king for anything involving a discount. There's plenty on the market actually. The trouble is that most home buyer's can't qualify for the non-FHA ready REOs and the short sales take a long time and have good chance of not closing. That being said if you make the right offer on a short sale and can wait it out (and handle the fact that it might not close), there are some very good deals for home buyers in short sales. Find yourself a really good proactive buyer's agent to represent you and let them bring you the new listings that fit your criteria. Without a lot of training and persistence, this is not the time for do it yourself home-buying.