Hello Beau! The time it takes to hear back from the bank varies widely. My experience has been that once I've established contact with the assigned loss mitigator at the bank, the time from submitting an offer to approval from the bank was greatly shortened. The loss mitigator has to get an okay from the powers that be on any offer which can take weeks There are a lot of steps in a short sale. The seller has to fill out a packet of information from the bank which can take the bank a few weeks to a couple months to review. Once the bank has the seller approved for a short sale, the seller's agent should immediately find out who is the assigned and make contact with the loss mitigator. Some banks do not assign a loss mitigator or approve a short sale until an offer is received which means the entire process is done at once. Beau short sales are a test of patience-good luck with yours!

It can take quite some time. The banks are essentially trying to see how high of an offer they will get on the property. Try looking at bank owned properties and put an offer on those. The bank already owns the house and is more likely to want them off their books.

Dear Beau,

There is no standard time line that you can count on to expect to hear back on offers on "Short Sales". Each Short Sale situation has it's own unique set of circumstances surrounding the sale and the principals in the transactions differ from sale to sale. Individual circumstances may include unmotivated sellers, inexperienced agents and lending institutions that are swamped with foreclosures and are in the process of being downsized themselves.

The standard answer that I give my clients when we discuss the possibility of submitting a Short Sale offer is that they can expect an answer back in "Two". The answer may come back in, "...Two weeks, Two months, To never"! Having said that, Short Sales can offer buyers a great opportunity to purchase a home below market value. If you are the seller placed in the position of going through the necessity of a Short Sale, the Short Sale can assist you with removing yourself from the negative consequences of a foreclosure. While a Short Sale will certainly bruise your credit, a foreclosure can damage your credit rating for years to come.

My recommendation is to work with a real estate agent that has specialized training and knowledge in the completion of Short Sales. They will have the experience to work through the issues that surround the Short Sale process and to advise you during the course of the transaction.

Good Luck!