Stephanie is on the money with her answer.

I've dealt with quite a few short sales and it sounds like they are just getting started with their process. It could be 3-4 weeks or 3-4 months before you get anything definite.

I had a client wait 6 months in this same situation. They were tired of waiting and we got out of the contract. 4 months later it was listed as a foreclosure and we jumped back in and got the property for 30K less! I'm not saying this works for everyone, but you have to be willing to gamble a little and be flexible.

Good luck!

No, you are probably weeks, if not months, from closing.
No, not necessarily in the bag for you - several layers of approval are required, appraisals, third party approvals, such as mortgage insurer on the orginal defaulted loan, etc.
Only you can make the decision about moving on - if your offer has been accepted, and you are past your due diligence period (I'm a Georgia agent), you may be in default if you elect to move on. Consult with your California agent or real estate attorney to understand your options. Bottom line, walking away at this point may not be as easy as you think.
It sounds like you are a buyer who may not have really understood what they were getting into by making an offer on a short sale property- very FEW buyers are really suited for this type of sale - it's a long and arduous process in which you will rarely have communication or understand what is going on. You could be involved for weeks or months and then be told it's not going to close. Understand that your cash offer may sound like a slam dunk decision to you, but to a bank, not so much. Their process, the other terms in the contract, and third party approvals can make a mess of the best cash offer situation.
Good luck.

Renee,

What does your Realtor tell you? If you have had an update (appraisal was done) then you might want to hang on.

Did you sign a contract?

WHAT DID IT SAY?!?!?!? - you might not be able to go somewhere else.

Short sales are tedious and testing of your patience, but if you like the home and have an acceptance, you might want to hang in there. 50 days could be 1/3 of the time it takes to do an average short sale.

Hi Renee, well, what do you want to do, stick with it or move on? Short sales are really long sales...and they get very frustrating. Do you have a realtor? My experience is that the realtor really needs to call the lenders almost daily to get results. I've also heard that bank owned properties are generally quicker and easier to close so you might want to consider one of those if in fact you decide to move on.

Good luck!