Cash is king.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/22/MNTO197NHM.DTL Since January, I've put in 10 bids (on foreclosed homes); some were up to $80,000 over asking price and were still turned down," said Nielsen, 41, a medical assistant. Each time, the banks selected offers from investors with all-cash offers - even when those offers were lower than his, Nielsen said. "Cash is king right... [more]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/22/MNTO197NHM.DTL Since January, I've put in 10 bids (on foreclosed homes); some were up to $80,000 over asking price and were still turned down," said Nielsen, 41, a medical assistant. Each time, the banks selected offers from investors with all-cash offers - even when those offers were lower than his, Nielsen said. "Cash is king right now," said Glen Bell of Keller Williams Realty in Berkeley. For foreclosed homes, "a cash offer that hits the target price will many times trump a higher-priced offer with a loan. The ability to close has become just as important to banks as price. The prospect of a property being tied up longer, still on their books and then falling out is costly." Cash offers close escrow quickly and easily, while offers with a mortgage now often take 45 days or longer to close and can fall through if the financing hits any snags. [less]