Hello Kendall84;
I've done many short sales. Some do take a short time. I got one accepted in one week. (It already had an offer that fell) Old buyers left the contract. It was taking too long for them.
Most of them take as long as a month to a few months to get an acceptance. You should of signed a short sale addedum. Check the date on the addedum to see when you can get out of the contract. I'd also keep my eyes open to buying homes that are not short sales. I'm not sure if you're a first time buyer. If you are, you may missing out on the tax credit if the lien holder takes too long to accept the offer.

Hope it works out for you,
Gilda Baxter
GRI, SRES
719-598-3183
GildaBaxter@msn.com
"Your Home, My Reputation"

One of the services I provide to buyers of short sales is that I inform them of the good the bad and ugly of buying short sales. One of the most important factors of taking the short sale listing is pricing. When the agent submits the offer to the bank, they should be able to prove a history of trying to sell the home at market value. I reduce the price every 1 to 2 weeks until I get an offer. When the negotiator sees an offer on a home that was only on the market for 2 days-red flags go up.

Each bank is different with how they process the file for approval. Many take a week just to get the fax into their system for the negotiator to even look at. I have had some banks flat out tell me not to call back or it can result in delays and wait to hear from them (Bank of America) and I have had negotiators actually call me and order a BPO (broker Price Opinion) when I first call them to say we are putting the home on the market as a short sale. (HSBC). That guy actually has called ME once a week to see how it is going showing wise. That is def. the exception.

Your best bet is to not drive by the house every other day and try to just know that it is being worked on. With the amount of short sales being done now, most banks are just overwhelmed and they are backed up. If the listing agent put together a thorough packet then the negotiator SHOULD have everything they need to proceed and not need to keep asking for 1 or 2 other pieces of paper.

Your agent is not going to be able to talk to the bank unless the bank has a signed authorization letter signed by the sellers. More to the point the bank won't tell them anything unless they have that authorization on file. Otherwise I could get your loan information and call the banks and ask them all kinds of personal information about a loan you have.

If your offer is a fair offer thenyou stand a good chance of it being accepted. But it does stink to wait.

Chuck Wartman

Yeah- lots of small things go into an approval of a short sale. Listing price/agreement, sellers financials- can they prove duress, the value of the property. Everything has to be perfect. Patience is Virtue- might end up with a flat out no, yes with an increased price or...

Hoping for the best- Good Luck!

Sarah Solomon
The Lawton Group, Inc
REO Specialist for CB

I bought a short sale home and the biggest problem is that the listing realtor doesn't seem to talk to the lender before setting a price. You make an offer and get all excited for a certain price and they come back with a counter offer for more. And now I see why. There is another short sale on our street that is on the market for $400,000 but they owe the lender $650,000. Of course the owner accepted, they just want out. The lender on the other hand wants what the house is worth. I think they should have a firm commitment for a price before listing the house. That would end a lot of the delay and waiting.

I've actually worked lots of short sales. Your broker should also have authorization to talk to the lein holder. If not, then make sure your broker does get authorization to talk to the lein holder. Yes it is a waiting game, but I try and communicate about once a week to the lein holder so I can let everyone know what is going on. By those phone calls at least it brings it to attention again. It also makes me feel like I'm doing something. The bank will want to do an appraisal on the home. The bank will make it's decision based upon that appraisal. Sometimes they come back and say they'll accept the offer. Other times they come back and say they want more money on the offer. You never know for sure what they'll say. Most of the time if you have the time to wait, you'll end up with a fair price home. You also have to realize sometimes they come out and say no. You probably wrote an offer with a short sale addendum attached to the contract. Make sure you pay attention to the dates. You can back out of the offer if they don't give you your answer based upon the acceptance date in the short sale addendum. Short sales can take anywhere from 1 month up to 6 months for an acceptance.

It is now a waiting game Kendall. One thing you can ask your broker to get is confirmation from the listing agent that the short sale packet was submitted to the bank(s). From that point it is in the bank's court. It is entirely in their discretion to accept/reject the offer and take what time they need. You do have provisions in the short sale contract to terminate your offer with return of earnest money, your broker can explain those options. Best of luck to you!
Sue Bigus
Herman Group Real Estate
719-229-5889

No, you and your agent cannot make the bank work any faster than they do. Some banks are faster than others. Your job now is to wait. It's usually well worth your time.

Hi Kendall84 :o)

Short sales and successful negotiation of them is often a long arduous and frustrating process for all involved. As Eddie mentioned a little earlier, you are in the part of the Short Sale process that is mostly a waiting game. The key to the success of the transaction is going to be the experience and expertise of the agent or short sale negotiator who is negotiating with the lender or lenders. Statistics show that the majority of Short sales do not result in a successful sale, however the numbers have been improving over the last 6 to 8 months or so and they can be a good deal depending on the situation..

Short sales used to take at least 8 to 12 weeks to get to the closing table, but within the last 8 months or so most lenders have become more willing and efficient at processing this type of sale negotiation to the point where my last short sale in March was closed within 5 weeks of receiving the contract offer. Usually, this can only be done if a sufficient prior groundwork has been laid with the lender on the seller's behalf. It's also important that the agreed to price be supportable with market specific evidence that shows the lender the short sale will be a better thing for them than allowing the property to go to foreclosure if it is in danger of such.

Usually in these situations the agent for the seller or the short sale negotiator hired by the seller are the ones handling the negotiations with the lender. If this is the case in your situation, I would recommend that you have your agent check with the agent or negotiator who is handling the negotiations and query them on how many short sales they have successfully negotiated and what specific training they have in handling short sales. If the answer to these questions is little or none, then you may want to rethink your strategy as you and your agent will probably not want to waste your time waiting for someone to learn how to handle this type of complex transaction.

The Colorado Short Sale Addendum, a required form for short sales in Colorado, provides for certain deadlines whereby you may withdraw from the negotiation and retain your earnest money if certain things are not completed. One of these is the Short Sale Acceptance Deadline that roughly says if the bank has not responded with an acceptance by a specific date, you have the option to cancel/terminate the contract and move on.

There are many different scenarios that can be involved in a Short Sale that can differ depending on whether the property is in a preforeclosure status and what type of loan is on the property amongst other things. If you have your heart set on this property then I would recommend you ask your agent to enquire of whoever is negotiating with the lender the 2 questions I posed above, then consult with your agent regarding what is going to be the best strategy to accomplish your goal of buying a new home.

Best Wishes
Brian L. A. Wess
CRS, GRI, ABR, ASR, CSR, e-PRO
Realtor®, Broker Associate
Residential & Investment Specialist
Pat Newell & Associates, Inc - Metro Brokers
Colorado Springs, CO
Direct: 719-528-6672
Web: BrianWess.com
COLORADO REAL ESTATE...DONE RIGHT!™

Voted "Best Realtor in Colorado Springs" 2006 & 2008
The Independent News Readers Poll: Gold 2006, Silver 2008

Unfortunately, at this point it is mostly a waiting game. If your agent or the agent on the listing side have experience with short sales or are using a short sale service, you may see things progress more quickly. Good luck and try not to get discouraged.