i just have to tell you this that i just went thru the same thing,the owners get mad ,won/t deal with you then you have to deal with a idiot agent , the one we had was stealing things out of the house,so watch your agent,don't sign anything until final walk thru on day of signing, ,real estate agents are vermon

I assume you have an agent. He or she is to contact the sellers agent (listing agent) for details...the listing agent is negotiating with the existing lender or lenders to have the sale approved for the sales price you offered in the contract. There may be other offers on the table yet, so the lender is going to take the best offer. before the lender approves a short sale they will ask the sellers agent to open escrow and get them a settlement statement ( a preaudit) from an escrow and title co. so they can see what they expect to net in the sale. If your contract is accepted, the lender will sign the short sale addendum to the contract and give the parties a closing date with the amount they are to net by that date...the short sale payoff statement is only good for the date they state as the close of escrow. Then and only then do you have a transaction. If the seller has 2 mortgages and they are 2 different lenders, the 1st lender will usually offer the 2nd lender an amount to be paid to them so that they will consent to the short sale..this takes time and most buyers back out because they don't want to wait. Your agent takes care of all of this for you, just keep asking the questions. Good Luck.

Roz,

Scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the other question: I am currently in the process of buying a short sale. Read all the comment , this will help you understand the process better. Nothing is a sure thing until the property closes escrow and still you could have problems with title.

Welcome to the Short Sale Nightmare.

Hi Roz,
Be patient, this process could take a while. A very long while. By "can't find the seller" you mean the owner of the home, right? Chances are that even though the seller has accepted your offer, it is still in the huge stack of other short sales at the lender's desk. You do understand that short sales have to be approved by the bank holding the mortgage. Talk to your agent (you do have one, don't you?). Maybe you will be better off moving on. Good luck!