The short sale process can be a daunting experience for many homes sellers. Not only are many faced with making a difficult decision. Now they have to go through a complicated sales process that will take much more time than a standard sale.

The short sale process is the steps that have to be taken in order to have the Lender or lenders agree to forgive the debt and accept payment in full from the proceeds that can be gained from selling the home at the time of sale

First, the seller decides to short sale. Many times this decision is reached after the homeowner is in default on mortgage payments but it’s not necessary to be in default. Better yet if the seller is current. This can open the doors to short selling the home and buying a new home much sooner than actually being in default.

Once this decision has been made, you contact a trusted real estate professional, preferably well versed on short sales and the process. Many who know what they are doing will have support for the seller and possibly a legal team that can help. The best can offer this at no cost to the seller.

From here the short sale starts to take shape. The property is prepared for sale. Placed on the market at its fair market value, this is very important to ensure the short sale is approved. Once offers are negotiated, they are submitted to the lender or lenders with supporting documentation showing the lender(s) it’s in their best interest to approve the sale Usually this is proven with a hardship letter written by the seller and supporting documents, if there is not enough income to support the continued payments of the property.

The time delays with the short sale process are usually due to the internal process the short sale must take once submitted for approval. The lender will verify value of the home by doing BPO’s and possibly full appraisals, depending on the lender and the position they’re in. If there are seconds or thirds, written agreements have to be secured from the other lenders, agreeing to the settlement amount being offered, if any, by the first lien holder.

The process usually takes from 45 to 60 days depending on the number of loans and the skills of the person contacting the lender(s), though it can take as long as four months.

A lot of people read and hear about how to invest real estate but do not really know what it entails. Most know that it has to do with making money from buying and selling houses which, actually, is exactly what it is, although it is a little bit more involved than that. A successful real estate investor needs to know more than just how to buy and sell houses. They also need to know about evaluating property, financing, etc. You need to study real estate investing thoroughly before starting to invest.

After doing some proper research, the next thing you will do as an investor is to buy a property. This property could be a lot of different things such as a house, a mobile home, land, apartment building, office buildings, etc. You need to know what you are going to do with the property before you purchase it. You need to have a plan in place with the steps you are going to take to profit from this purchase.

Most investors start off with buying a single family house at a below market price, improving the property to raise its value, and then reselling it for a profit. This is commonly known as flipping a property. There are a lot of other factors involved such as financing, finding the right property, cost of repairs, cash out of pocket, etc. These all have to be considered and planned for before actually purchasing the property.

Another popular way to make money from real estate is buying foreclosed and pre foreclosed property. They are usually below market value and most of them will need a lot of repairs. When buying foreclosure properties you usually will have to bid on it at an auction, although sometimes you can buy them through a real estate agent.

You can also buy distressed properties which can also be a good way to get a property cheaper. These are usually pre foreclosures and usually have some negative effect on their value because of their condition, appearance, or the financial situation of the owner. You will probably be working with a bank or other lender that holds the mortgage on these properties.

These were just a few ways to start real estate investing and there are many other ways. As you start your investing you will see other opportunities for investing in real estate such as using hard money, making short sales, and many other investment strategies. Sometimes there is little or no money required such as with wholesaling and bird dogging.