Yes!!!! If you think it will close in a hurry the answer is NO. My experience has been it could take between 5 and 9 months to close from the submitted date of the offer. My clients have been willing to wait. Patience is the name of the short sale

Yes, absolutely! Don't be discouraged...there are many of us out there that are CDPE's (certified distressed property experts) and we do get the short sales to close! So, make an offer! If you need assistance feel free to contact me.

absolutely....just make your your agent cchecks out the listing agent to make sure they have experience negotiating short sales.

Yes, absolutely, but don't expect it to close ... Honest answer based on lots of experience. They can be very frustrating and disorganized deals.

You most certainly can make an offer for a short sale, it just depends on what the situation is when it is listed. You can have 2 types of short sales: First, you can have the house listed at the price that the bank has already agreed to with the agent listing it and the homeowner. With this, the bank is looking for an offer to then agree to and go to closing. These can take as soon as a week to a few months to get final approval by the bank and then they'd like the house to close within a month or so. And even so, when I have submitted offers for short sales with my clients, I put a timeframe on the offer - "subject to bank approval of offer by such a date or offer considered null and void", usually within a month's time, which I think is reasonable.

You can also have a short sale where the house gets put on the market at a reasonable market value in hopes that an offer comes in. Then once an offer comes in on the property, then there is a packet of documents that gets submitted to the bank for their approval. This might take a little longer since nothing has been initially worked out beforehand with the bank and homeowner. But again, you can always put a timeframe on the offer and see what happens.

Generally with short sales, it is good to be patient because you never know how long one is going to take, so just keep that in mind when putting in an offer on a short sale. And of course, it will also matter as to if you are financing a loan to buy or or buying it out right with cash. Cash always speaks louder than loans, but if you are able to get financed through a FHA 203K rehab loan, the bank may consider that as well.

If you'd like any help with putting in an offer on a property, I'd be happy to work with you in doing so. Good luck!

Angela Dolber
Prudential Prime Properties
angela@pruprimehomes.com
cell: 508-826-8553

I don't agree with that statement Alex. I have a short sale transaction closing at the end of the month, already approved by the bank.

Of course you can. The challenge is if you are in a rush or you really need a house. The wait period averages about 6 months. That time is just to hear yes or no. About 70%+ of the time is a no.
As much as you can, try to avoid dealing with short sales; they are a waste of everybody's time.