The first time home buyer and investors continue to compete in obtaining great real estate deals in both the foreclosure and short sale markets. Additionally, Lee County had record sales numbers in 2009, so the properties are moving at an incredible rate. Potential buyers are being outbid in these foreclosed properties and short sales and in some cases being pushed toward the traditional resale property. But can you find the same deal in a traditional home sale that you can in foreclosures or short sales? The short answer is yes and no.

If you are able to submit an aggressive offer that is accepted, you not only can get a great value but also get a home that is turn-key and ready to move in. The reality is that most of the foreclosure and short sale homes do need some level of work and the traditional resale home usually does not.

Most sellers in today's real estate market know that they are in competition with the foreclosure and short sales and are pricing the homes in accordance with the market conditions. Buyers still have the option to go in with an aggressive offer and negotiate the deal that they want.

There is an inherent danger of going in too aggressive and insulting the seller beyond any negotiation at all. Typically when this happens the seller will not even counter offer the "low ball" offer, and just move on. For sellers in today's market you can not take the offer personally because buyers are trying to get the best deal and don't know what the real situation is. The caution here for the buyer is to put in an intelligent offer and here is how you can do that.

First, you must understand the motivation of the seller to sell the home. Sellers appear to be more motivated when that seller has already purchased a new home and can potentially be carrying two mortgages or if they are facing a relocation for work and have to move out of the area to start a new job.

If the property has been on the market for a long time, which is calculated by days on market, this maybe a signal that the sellers may entertain an aggressive offer. If the property has been on the market for more days that the average comparable home, it puts the home in the category of excessive days on market.

The last thing that is important to look at is frequency of price reductions and how much these price reductions are. If the property owner is lowering the price $ 20,000 every month for the past six months you can probably assume they are a motivated seller. If the property has been on the market for 120 days and has only had 2 price reductions for $ 5,000 each that is a different story.

Conduct research on the comparable sales in the area. If the average price is trending down this is easy to see. If a property has been on the market for 90 days and the owner has not reduced price, there is a good chance that the property is worth less than it was when it was first listed.

The key thing when writing up an aggressive offer is including a cover sheet that explains why your offer is what it is. This should include comparable properties, price per square foot for those properties, calculations used to come up with the offer and any other details that support your offer. The second thing you should include is an aggressive earnest deposit. If a buyer sees how you determined your offer and sees that you are serious based on your substantial earnest deposit, usually 10 percent of the purchase price, they probably will want to negotiate with you further.

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