When looking to buy a foreclosure, keep in mind it's already bank-owned, so they are just looking to off-load the property.  This is a perfect opportunity for someone with cash or financing to purchase it. 

However, our experience shows that when attempting to buy a short sale, your best bet is to be a cash buyer.  Remember, a correctly and well priced short sale will have multiple buyers trying to purchase it.  This is the market's way of telling you it's priced right.  Cash buyers have a leg up on the competition as the bank, who has the ultimate decision on the short sale, is more likely to go for a sure thing vs. someone who's financing might fall through at the last minute.  That's called risk mitigation.

  Sellers or the current homeowners also tend to go for cash buyers in these circumstances as they want their property to sell for sure without being subject to buyer's lender issues. 

Please keep in mind that foreclosures usually lack various appliances that may or may not have been stripped from the home.  Short sales do not have this issue. 

This is not meant to discourage folks with financing by any means from buying short sales.  Just keep in mind you will be in a competitive buying environment if the house is priced correctly or you will most likely wind up paying a premium on the property. 

As of December 2009, the backlog of foreclosures in Lee County has only gone down from 23,000 to 21,000 in the previous twelve months. 

It's a sad but true commentary today.  If you aren't competing with other buyers on a property, it may not be a true deal since the market dictates value and it does remain a buyer's market today and for the foreseeable future.