Article: This old house? The pros and cons of buying foreclosures and short sale properties.(REAL ESTATE)

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TIRED OF RENTING AND EAGER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE of falling property prices, 28-year-old Leonard Poteat started working with a real estate agent last October in hopes of becoming a first-time home buyer. After a few false starts, Poteat found what he was looking for in a Hyattsville, Maryland, property that was listed for $239,000.

On the market for more than 12 months, Poteat's home of choice was a "short sale," meaning that the owners were on the edge of foreclosure and working with their bank to negotiate a payoff that would be lower than the amount they owed. The house's list price was $100,000 below its estimated market value of ...

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