One positive in buying a short sale is that sometimes you can get a killer deal on the home.  Now although buying a short sale home can be advantagous it can also have its downfalls.  In a normal transaction you would put in an offer and hear back within a day or two.  With a short sale, although the seller will respond to your offer sometimes it can take weeks or even months to hear back from the bank.  One other downfall is that in a short sale the property is sold in As-Is condition.  This means that if there is a problem with the home most likely the bank will not fix it.  For those buyers who are looking to be in a home within 30 days or so a short sale is most likely not the route for you.  If you do have a few months to wait then maybe a short sale is the way to go.