Carmen,
If you are going Cash$$$ then a foreclosure can close very quick ( a week or so). If you are going to mortgage the property then again Bank owned is the way to go.
Now if the short sale is Bank Approved then yu can close in 30-45 days.
Realtor Rick.

Generally speaking "foreclosures" require much less time to process to closing than "short sales." This is essentially because once the property is in the possession of the bank they can do what's necessary to clear the property's title for resale and convey a "clear title" to the buyers.

With a "short sale" the transaction requires both the approval of the present owners and the bank.....and the bank has to agree to allowing the owners to sell at a price that the banks would be taking a loss on.

Foreclosures can be accomplished in 30 days or less while short sales can take months. If you are planning on venturing into the "short sale" experience our best advice is to plan on being patient, patient, patient.

Carmen,
The first answer is close in many ways for California because of the high volume number one. But I am going to say it depends on the price and if one is offering to buy all cash. Yes if there is more than one offer it may take a week or two till the lisitng agent gets a direction from the Bank if they all of the buyers are to make a best and final offer.
I have had homes close in less than 30 days with investors after inspections or if they waved insoections. Most of them have a team of contractors or s employees that can inspect, and make estimated repair costs.
short sales can be difficult because the owners still own it and they have to apporve it first before it goes to the lender and then they work the munbers to see if they are going to take the offer.

I have short sale offer on right now, but because of he new rules here in our Board of Realtors and new rules from the State, when there is a short sale and the first offer is accepted by the owner, it is contingent on the lender accepting it, This could take a month or more. But My offer from my buyers is first runner up if the first is not accepted, then my offer is looked at.

Agents in my office have had buyers pull there offers off the table because the lenders are so over whelmed that it took over 3 months for an offer to be even looked at, what we are seeing is the biggest lenders like Country Wide, have been swamped because of all the bad loans in there files and now they have been ourchased by Bank of America that can even take more time for th transactions to take palce. Now also take into conideration, as most of us agents may not realize that these same companies are being hit also with hundreds if not thousand s of Modification requests that take over 3 and four months to complete.

The best way to sel a short sale is to find a compnay like I work with, that will buy the house before it is listed or the short sale begins from the owner that needs to get out. Then the company helps the owners fill out he paper work for the short sale, under the investment company given powr of attorney, the house is now listed at the market rate and then the Investment compnay negotiates with the bank on a daily basis from there teams of people. In the mean time buyers see the house and offers are made and two closings can be done at the same time and everyone is happy. Now this till can take three months. but the Investment Compnay taes all the worry from the onwers needing to sell and take it on themselves to ge the deal done totally with in 9o to 120 days and no los of payments to the bank, and people save there credit ratings at the same time.

Hello Carmen and thanks for your question.

All transactions, once approved by both parties (buyer and seller) will take approximately 30-45 days to close escrow. However, the time delays--if any--occur in getting the offer approved by the lender. Determining how long this will take depends on:

1. The skills and familiarity of the process by both selling and listing agents
2. The strength of the offer being presented to the bank
3. The activity level of the current housing market in the area (how many offers will the seller be reviewing)
4. The skills of the short sale negotiator or asset manager

On the average, it takes slightly less time to purchase an REO property than a short sale, but that is not always the case. Earlier this year, I worked with clients that purchased a short sale, and the listing agent was really prepared. The negotiator was ready to go, and within 48 hours, our offer was approved and we were ready to go. Within 35 days afterwards, my clients owned the home. In this case, the listing agent had prepared everything for the negotiator, the negotiator had preapproved a price, the lender was ready to go, and we provided a strong offer on the home.

On the other hand, there is another Realtor in my office who has had an offer on an REO property for two months and it has still not been approved, nor denied, nor countered after the first request by the asset manager for the "highest and best" offer for the home. Even if the offer is approved tomorrow, the entire transaction will take over 3 months from start to finish--not nearly as fast as the short sale.

So, the speed with which your offer can move from presented to accepted to close depends entirely upon the skill of your agent, the skill of the listing agent and the strength of the offer. If you wish to get a "bargain" price, it will definitely take more time for the bank to review, reevalute and approve your offer.

Good luck!!

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty
San Jose, CA

Bank owned homes can take anywhere from 1 -1 1/2 months to close, whereas a short sale can take from several months, up to 4 months to close. Some short sale lenders do not return offers till they finally choose one they like, and sometimes a lot of patience is needed if your want to purchase this way.