Need Direction...
I have come across an opportunity that I thought would be a case for short sale. The property appraised two weeks ago for $210,000 as is. The owner NEEDs out now. The first is $143,000 and is with Chase. The second is with Fairbanks and is for $43,000. After sending in a home inspector (I do not like surprises that do not add to the bottom line!) I have assessed the improvement to be around 6-7K. I have given both banks a written offer. Chase declined 110K and said they can get their money on the courthouse steps and Fairbanks has now declined my offer to them of 20K. The question is...do I try again at 25 and risk the delayed response of the paper maze that it has taken me to get to just this point or offer 35K and cut my potential margins to get the deal done? Time is certainly of the essence here, the property hits the steps next tuesday. Any advice from the short sale experts would be GREATLY appreciated! 
I'd try again at 25K. Next Tues they won't be getting much...if anything. I guess they haven't thought of that yet!
Good Luck!
This being the first pre foreclosure I have ever done, I have a couple of questions. When it goes to the courthouse steps, will the bidding start at the total of both loans? My wife is a RE agent and told me most of the foreclosures last month started at the amount owed to the bank, but we did not know if and how the second lien holder collected. How does that work and what rule of thumb can I use (if any) on future short sales (obviously barring major structural issues etc.)? What happens if it does not sell at the courthouse-my understanding is that the bank will then try to sell it themself through the use of a RE agent. Do you tend to get better deals then? Should I send a copy of the home inspection along with my offer to better justify my 25K offer? Thanks for the prompt response...obviously I do not want to lose this one but I do not want to be....well, too greedy.