An advantage to being a short sale agent on the listing side is the agent sees what happens from a different point of view.

There are not a whole slew of agents in the business who have done a short sale, much less represented a buyer for a short sale. Writing offers to buy a short sale is different than writing offers to buy a home that is not a short sale. For example, if the agent isn't careful, it is possible that a short sale seller could accept an offer and then turn around and sell the home to a different buyer. An agent who mostly represents sellers for a short sale would know that, but a buyer's agent might not.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• How to Find a Short Sale Agent
  
• 6 Things to Know Before Buying a Short Sale
  
• How to Write a Short Sale Offer

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}

Not at the moment, but a few years from now it is very possible that loan assumptions could become a possible financing option for home buying.

I'll tell you why. Interest rates are incredibly low. Rates are so low it's astonishing that they are still a viable interest rate. It's almost like the government is paying us to borrow money. They are that low. And these interest rates will become very attractive when rates go up. They will go up. Eventually, everything goes up. Interest rates have been suppressed for so long that they are unsustainable at this rate. Once they rise, they will be missed, and loan assumptions could be in our future.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Buying Subject To a Loan
  
• Types of Mortgage Loans
  
• How Interest Rates are Determined

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}

Sometimes sellers don't want an offer from an FHA buyer because they are worried about having to make FHA repairs.

FHA loans have developed a reputation for being difficult over the years, but much of that is in the past. FHA appraisers today may still call for FHA repairs before the lender will fund a loan, but they aren't nearly as stringent as they used to be. I try to warn buyers who are buying a short sale, though, that they might have to do their own FHA repairs because the home is sold As Is. Some of these sellers don't have the money to make repairs to meet FHA requirements.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Why Buyers Love FHA Loans
  
• FHA Streamlined K Loans
  
• FHA Short Refinances

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}

The HAFA Short Sale Program, which began in April of 2010, has been extended through December 31, 2013.

HAFA is the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives offered through the government's Making Home Affordable Program. It's a continued effort to help more underwater sellers to streamline the complicated short sale process.

While almost every major bank offers the HAFA short sale program, not every bank adheres to government timelines. But when the shoe is on the other foot, some banks will also drop homeowners from the HAFA program and refuse to let them reapply if their paperwork is not returned within 14 days.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• How to Price a Short Sale Home
  
• Staging a Short Sale Home
  
• 7 Short Sale Selling Mistakes

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}