Short Sale Buyers Dodge Foreclosure Freeze

After two years and more than six offers, Ed and Janet Sikes finally found the home they wanted -- a short sale in a central Florida retirement community called Solivita. They've been waiting for word that the bank would accept the short sale for four months. The week before their closing the foreclosure scandal hit and they weren't sure they would still be able to close on Monday.

Finally on Friday last week, they got the word that the bank approved the latest short sale offer. The seller had to come up with $50,000 cash and the Sikes would buy the home for $110,000. "I feel so bad for the sellers, but we got a great deal," Janet Sikes said as she was unpacking in her new home.

For the Sikes this was a long, drawn out event with many bidding wars lost. She put her first offer in on a short sale two years ago that was accepted, but when the title search was done the sellers found out that their niece who was renting the property while they tried to sell it, took out a loan on the property they did not know about. That deal fell through, as did about five others as they bid on homes and lost the deal.