Newbie Here! Need Help- Auction In 2 Weeks!
I am new to real estate investing and I want to purchase my first investment for my own home. This property is a 6BD 3BA in need of cosmetic repAIRS. It has been empty for a year or so but is only about ten years old. The owner facing foreclosure owes only about 105K. My realtor friend viewed the home with me and gives a FMV of 160k. INSTANT EQUITY! Good, right? The problem is-- the auction is scheduled for June 11th and my home that is on the market with a realtor has not sold yet which means I have no cash. Should I try a short sale this late in the process- ( I only learned about this technique last week), or wait for it to go REO? Contact the loss mitgation dept.? I have bought two books recently- "Making Big Money in Foreclosures w/o Cash or Credit" and "The Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing" I am intelligent but I am experiencing information overload. I am pressed for time but I want to find out how to make this home mine if at all possible. Thanks for your quick answers!
Betsy 
Typically, short sales require a month or more from application to approval.... then another 30 days or so to close.
June 11th?
If you want the house, I suggest that you make your intentions known to the mortgagee... perhaps even submitting an offer (however premature) with the mortgagee as the Seller of an REO.
Attend the Sheriff's or Trustee's Sale. IF the lender takes it back, hand their representative an Offer to Purchase.
[addsig]
I confussed by something, if there is 55K of equity in the place, why would the back accept a short sale? 105/160 gives me a 66% LTV.