Short sales - those foreclosure transaction that happen at the last minute before a home goes up on the auction block - are one of the most rewarding foreclosure investments.
Because the buyer deals directly with the seller without competition, it is easier to negotiate on price.
Since the lender is involved and has to approve the sale for it to work, buyers can often get preferential financing such as lower interest rates or closing costs.
And since the whole idea of the short sale is to raise as much cash as possible to pay off all of - or most of - the mortgage and stop the foreclosure, the buyer is almost always guaranteed a deep discount on the price.
Discovering short sales before others do becomes the big challenge, and those foreclosure investors who recognize this fact and devote a corresponding amount of effort will come out ahead of the pack.
Here are five tips for casting a wider net in terms of getting the word out to homeowners to notify them that you are ready to do business and save them from imminent foreclosure.

• Act with Urgency.
  Time is of the essence in the short sale game.
  Track leads immediately, not tomorrow.
  Others are after the same homeowner, and if you snooze you lose.
  Run, don't walk, to seal the deal with the homeowner.
  
• Do Ongoing Print Ad Campaigns.
  Invest in top quality, professional looking business cards, fliers, brochures, printed post card mailers, billboards - whatever works.
  Keep your name in front of the public nonstop.
  Eventually you'll become a known brand name as the go-to person for anyone facing foreclosure.
  
• Target Neighborhoods by Mail.
  Study the demographics and the real estate data to determine which areas are most prone to foreclosures.
  Blanket them with mailers that are eye-catching, straightforward, and effective.
  Explain that you are the person to call for the best prices, most professional resources, and fairest treatment when it's time to halt a foreclosure.
  
• Stay on Top of Court Records and Public Announcements .
  Keep tabs on all public records regarding short sales, even if it means paying finder fees to people to scout the papers and bulletin boards for you.
  Knowledge is power and you want to be the first to know when a homeowner misses payments so you can be the first to offer them short sale solutions.
  
• Meet Homeowners Face to Face.
  Homeowners are not going to trust a short sale to somebody without first meeting them face to face, so constantly schedule meetings with homeowners.
  Everything else you do leads up to the personal meeting, and without it all of the other marketing efforts are a waste of time.
  

By following these guidelines, random hits and misses will be replaced with a consistent and professional approach to ferreting out short sale properties.
The result will be more a much more organized and efficient work schedule with enhanced time management, a self-sustaining and self-perpetuating system of lead generation, and a wider choice of short sale opportunities.
Those will ultimately lead to a higher success rate, a greater frequency of closed transactions, and higher profits in a shorter amount of time.