Short Sale

In a market where a seller cannot sell their home for the money owed they may attempt to strike a deal with the bank to sell for less than what is owed.  This process, on average takes 8-12 weeks to negotiate. *Quite often it actually takes more time, and very infrequently does it take less.*  Every bank is different and, as buyers, there is little to nothing that can be done to speed up the process. Short Sales do get approved more often than not IF the buyers hang in there, BUT as buyers you need to be prepared for a wait. Typically the hard part is the lack of updates along the way as the approval moves through this lengthy three part process: 1) sellers put paperwork in order (same info as used in a bankruptcy) and list home, 2) sellers receive a viable offer, sign it and send it to bank who then does an analysis of the home and neighborhood, 3) If both prior steps are approved the file gets sent to the "final negotiator" (they are referred to as negotiators) who views and weighs all info, processes it and gives the final "yay or nay." Then paperwork goes out for signing and final written approval. Once the approval is attained, the banks want to close ASAP. It is not a matter of people sitting and toiling over a decision, most banks have thousands and thousands of short sales in processing, which is what draws out the process. *Very important side note*- Most short sales shown on the MLS actually have an signed offer submitted to the bank. Once a "good" offer is received the sellers of the home will sign it then forward it to the bank for approval. By doing this, we Realtors, have found the banks have a higher level of offer acceptance and they also respond quicker.  If an offer is signed by the sellers, no other offer will be forwarded to the bank or signed until the current offer plays out in fruition, even if it is higher, cash, or in general "better". As mentioned, approval on the submitted offer can take 3 months or more. Since final acceptance comes from the bank, not the sellers, such sales are technically active and must be listed in the MLS as such.  This really throws off the accuracy of homes that are TRULY available on most websites. If there is a home you are interested in, please, just send me the address or the MLS number: I will research the home and get back to you ASAP. Most sellers are receiving multiple offers and are signing one within the first week of listing their home.