We inform our clients till we receive executed agreement best keep looking. Systems down for over month WOW, how does the bank maintain doing business with any client(s).

Keep the paperwork with this property....have your agent pursue it.... however I would continue search

National Featured Realtor and Consultant, Mortgage Loan Officer, Credit Repair Lecturer
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Lynn911

Gin,

We are truly sorry to hear about your frustration with this "short sale" experience but this seems to be the norm. People that have the ability to perserve may be able to enjoy the benefits of great savings....however, there are no guarantees.

Ask your agent to check on the following for this property:

What is the debt associated with this property?

How far along are the owners in the short sale process?

Have they filed a "letter of hardship?"

Have the owners had the home appraised?

Has the bank appointed a "loss mitigator?"

Has the bank done an appraisal?

Has the bank indicated a price they are willing to accept?

The answers to these questions may give you a better appreciation for how much time may be required.

Good luck

Hello Gin and thanks for your post.

As you'll see, short sales are anything but "short" in terms of processing time. One of the best ways to determine, beforehand, if your offer has even a small chance of being accepted by the seller is to have your Realtor complete a property profile. The property profile will determine the total value of the loans on the home in order to see if the current market price would provide the bank or lender with an acceptable loss on the home.

If the difference between loan value and the home's market value is too great, or if there are several loans on the home, it's more likely that the home will be foreclosed since a short sale will require too much negotiation between lenders, and the first lien holder can often 'wipe out" the other lien holders in a foreclosure.

Also, keep in mind that a short sale in the 'early stages' of negotiation with the bank is likely to take far longer than a short sale that has been preapproved by the bank in terms of pricing. Short sales can range from 6-8 weeks from date of offer to reply from the bank for sales in which the lender has not yet approved a price to a few weeks when a price has been approved. However, I've also seen short sales linger for an astounding 6-8 months, so anything can happen with a short sale, and it is, as Hal noted below, one of the primary reasons that buyers "jump ship" to find greener pastures and better homes with REO or non-short sale properties.

Right now, hang in there, and be patient. Check with your Realtor at least weekly to determine if any information has been received from the bank. And, incidentally, I don't think the bank's computer systems are down at all. More likely, the file has not been assigned to a negotiator and this is simply the standard response as to why things are not progressing as quickly as all parties would prefer.

Good luck!!

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

Hello Gin,
More than likely you are dealing with a different lender that holds the mortgage on the short sale you have made the current offer on. Remember the owner of the house is asking the lender to take a shortage on the amount of money they owe to the lender. The lender does not have to acknowledge that an offer has been made on the house, they are not required to respond at all.

This is what makes buying a short sale so difficult and causes good buyers to look for property else where. You may have to wait weeks or months before or if they respond. They (Lender) might be waiting for a Broker Price Opinion (BPO) to come in so that they can see what the fairmarket value of the home is.

So with a short sale you must be patient or move on to another property, so good luck and I hope this answers your question a little bit.