patrick.net

LOL. You don't pay 6% when you buy,only when you sell you pay the 6% of the proceeds.

bubblesitter says

LOL. You don't pay 6% when you buy,only when you sell you pay the 6% of the proceeds.

The seller factors this cost in when he sets a price for his house, so yes, you essentially still pay for it.

By buying it on your own, the price will not be 6% cheaper. The seller will get nothing since they are selling short. The bank will pay 6% less in fees that's all.

If you still want to do it on your own, why don't you sign up for a service that reports notices of defaults and go knock on the seller's door to convince them to sell short?

Of course you could get shot at or punched in the face, but that's what realtors have to do to get those listings. It shouldn't be a problem since you think realtors do nothing anyway.

If the buyer paid the commission, thus reducing the sale price (principal and interest etc.), how long would it take to break even through tax savings and interest on principal ?
Those going through short sales have already become familiar with sales tactics used by car dealers. They make you wait and sweat and bait & switch and test your breaking point for highest prices. The banksters mentality is not "how much do we have to lose". It is "how much MORE do we have to lose". As far as the bank clerk is concerned, your purchase is just another stack of paperwork, as opposed to a private seller trying to achieve a significant lifetime goal.
Turn the tides on them. Advise them you plan to make an offer on two others.
YOU ARE HOLDING THE WEAPON (money). ASK THEM IF THEY FEEL LUCKY.

StoutFiles says

The seller factors this cost in when he sets a price for his house, so yes, you essentially still pay for it.

You realize that sellers don't have much say in this environment? Does the seller's increase in price by 6% automatically increase the chances of that wooden crap box being sold?

You could try and find yourself a buyers agent - someone who does the leg work of researching properties for you. Avoids the sense that you are paying them for doing "nothing".

If the property is already in the MLS - you'll be interfacing with a realtor. The other option would to be find properties not on the market and see if you can't negotiate a deal with them sans agent, attorney to attorney, but such an arrangement is not for the uneducated or weak of heart.