Great Blog - Good Information.

I purchased three California homes in 2009. All REO's. My advice - What have I learned? Prequal with the bank taking the loss. Hire the listing agent on the property you wish to buy. If you use a buyers agent, only make offers on property listed within that agents brokerage. If not my advice, you are wasting your time. Most successful distressed sales in CA are inside jobs. Sort and sweet.

AS FOR PNC SHORT SALE;

On April 2 this year, I made an offer on a short sale. PNC 1st TD - Citi 2nd. Over one million in loans. BOP 50% under loans - Whew! A huge loss! Bets are presently 50/50 to get a short approved. As of now, property vacant for 6 months. Foreclosure on hold.
What I have done: I paid for a full appraisal with comps. I submitted the appraisal with my offer. My offer is well over the BOP, and $15K over appraised value. I also sought, and received loan approval from PNC. Not prequal - This time I sought and received full loan approval for the appraised value, conventional, 20% down. In short, I think have done all I can think to do as a buyer to make my offer stand out.
Ouestion; Have I done enough? Is there more I can do? What would you do now?