Herb,If you are planning to conduct business in Short Sales, make sure you are aware of the Lenders that put "hold" contigencies on their Acceptance Letters.

Then set up an appointment and go talk and totally describe your business plan and how you plan on conducting business.

Your option is what is sold on ebay, once the bid is accomplished, the option is sold, at a lower dollar amount to address any Ebay fees.As Deborah explained, you can close the contract assignment by mail or in escrow and credit the option price to the assignment fee.I used Options extensively in business arrangements and real estate.

I wonder how they stole water and power without the neighbors seeing a hose or extension cord?

Does being associated with the realtor syndicate embarass you due to how others in the trade conduct themselves?

They are not "illegal" per se, but my understanding is that because of the intense scrutiny from State and Federal regulators (because of mortgage fraud that has taken place over the years), most title companies prefer not to conduct simultaneous closings any longer (even if you have a cash buyer).

LOLMan the views some of you have are crazy.Some not posting but reading this venom will NEVER want to work with you on a deal because of your views of brokers/agents.Really,really think about that for a minute.I think in this topic there are many problems. 1.You ARE NOT required to be a REALTOR to conduct real estate as a licensed broker/agent.Now your local state MLS might be owned by a REALTOR organization or not and require it.Also if they don't require it your Broker might require it in their Independant Contractor agreement.In my state Georgia you ARE NOT required to be a REALTOR for mls access.I am the broker owner and have 24 agents.2.There is collusion from investors just as much as NAR.Many people will do illegal or unethical things for money.I don't know how many times investors will play with fire only to be burned when HUD comes back and says the scheme that an investor ran is now illegal and they will be prosecuted for it.3.If a broker/agent can't defend their commission do you really want them helping you with your buying or selling??

I've done extensive research on general contract law and my state's specific laws, and I've also discussed it with other EXPERIENCED investors who have studied general contract law and their state's specific laws, and really on top of all of those I base my statements on personally having in-depth discussions with multiple attorneys who are EXTREMELY well qualified in real estate contracts and law. 95% of my deals I've put absolutely no earnest money on

At this time I have been conducting business in Austin, Dallas Forth Worth, Houston and Arlington Texas..

We'll always keep our fingers in RE, and with the internet and laptops, we can conduct business almost anywhere in the world.