Help me understand this please

[Lisa Cary]

Aloha, I was in the process of doing my first short sale here in Hawaii. Bank approved it for $399K. Owner paid $549K in 2004. I offered $345K. The house and detached cottage bring in $2800 rent per month. (Does this sound like a decent deal?)
Just got word back that the seller's attorney recommended he NOT go through with the short sale but let it go to foreclosure instead. Can someone explain to me why that is a better option for a seller? I can't understand the logic of this.
Thank you to this forum for helping out the newbies with our questions.
Mahalo, Lisa

[James Harkness]

I usually keep quiet, but it seems to me like more and more, inexperienced people come on here and speak as if they know what they are talking about.

Champak, what are you basing your valuations off of? Every market is different. I may be wrong, but I am assuming that since you are from Georgia, you have no clue what the Hawaii market looks like. There are tons of different submarkets in each individual market, and all of them are different. You cannot make a blanket statement and say that the price is 30% from the 2004 price. Do you have comps for the property to support your assertion?