Short Sale Strategy Please assist..

[Amir Saeed]

Hello all

I am new in Real Estate investing business. Specially in short sale. I am currently working with some realtors who are daily emailing me properties out of the MLS based on certain filters I have recommended. There are many properties that are a potential shot sales candidate. I usually pick out few of them and look over them every weekend. So far I have not picked any. Some of the properties are total dump, and some are really nice.

I am confused in what to pick and what not to pick. My goal is to fix them and flip. I am aware of the the short sale process as it can take long time. I am finding properties which are listed below the market value. But are they sufficient enough to make a reasonable profit? How do I know?

E.g I recently saw a property that was listed for short sale for $50k. The comps are around 70K after ARV. My concern is that in this situation what if the repair value exceeds the comps. How can make sure that I do not go over the comps basically putting my self in negative. Maybe I can negotiate with the bank and bring the sale price down. This way I can have less risk. I also thought of taking contractors to the property so I can have a rough estimate. I guess I a m a little hesitant to move forward. Can someone please provide any tips on how to develop a strategy or how YOU do it...thanks.