Bank owned homes, Short Sales, RI market update

It's been some time since I last posted on this blog. The reason is I have been very busy with REO properties! There has been a change, here in RI with these properties. One big change is how fast they are selling! We no longer have the opportunity to browse around and set appts for a week after these show up on the market. Now there are investors and with the new tax credit, numerous first time buyers, all out there looking for a deal.
And there are many deals to be had, if you or someone you know has a qualified contractor to update, many of these homes, need minimal updating. However, if you are a first time buyer and you are using an FHA loan, you definately need to look at homes that are less than what you originally wanted to borrow, because now, you will need an additional sum to get these homes up to par. Even short sales are showing evidence of deterioration. I have found that when people are losing their homes, the original pride of ownership no longer exists. These homes are then either vacated or just not kept up. A short sale also takes forever to get an answer (in my experience). In the time that you are waiting for your offer to be accepted, the price of the home has since gone down. So you need to be very astute when putting in your offer.
Hopefully REO's will not dominate the Rhode Island market for too much longer, but that also means that the lower pricing will also be gone.
As I state in the first paragraph, right now many of these homes are going into highest and best offers and many are sold before print! You definitely need to work with someone who will monitor the market for you. But, if you are patient and have the help and commitment of a good Realtor, you can prevail in these tough economic times! Good luck in your house hunting!