The answers you've already received really answer your question. This may be one of those 'fictional' listings that really does not have the bank's commitment to accept ANY offer, much less one that matches the current listing price. You may want to sit and wait, but our experience has shown that very few of these actually close, and we all recommend you consider other alternative homes on the market.

But I'd like to emphasize, that if you don't take our advice and look for alternatives, that someone watch very closely if this home is now in foreclosure, and that the situation has changed as to who at the bank is actually reviewing any offers. Once it is in foreclosure, it's not the loss mitigation department who has the file.

Good luck!

Sue Archer
Realtor, GRI, ABR, SRES
The Galster Group
(916) 847-9686

Dear Sarah: I love the answers by both Jim and Erin. What I advise my clients to do is not to get their heart set on a short sale home, because as Jim points out, your chances of actually getting that home are pretty slim. There are several questions that need to be answered by the listing agent to be able to determine the viability of even the possibility of a short sale being able to close.

I know you've been looking for a very long time, but maybe it's time to look some more. Perhaps there are some regular sales on the market now since we have come into the high selling season of the year.

Many buyers do not have the formidable patience that you have. So short sale listing agents will sometimes collect multiple back up offers to the first (Owner) accepted offer. That way, if the accepted *( by owner) becomes impatient and cancels, there is another offer to substitute if the bank is actually willing to deal. (Rare cases)

Last year, in Elk Grove during 2007, only 1 in 12 short sale listings actually sold:
the rest: 11 out of 12 short sale listings failed to sell. I think that is a pretty lousy percentage.

To your advantage though, Prices in EG fell from October through March so the extra eight month wait has actually been in your favor. It started picking up there a little in April.

The first poster, Erin, was one of those extremely rare listing agents who actually closed a short sale in Elk Grove this year. She is either lucky or smart, probably both.

That means the listing agent finally complied with the new Metrolist MLS rules and changed the status of the listing to reflect that there are offer(s) on the property. Hopefully your agent is in contact with the listing agent on a regular basis to find out the status of the short sale. With any luck, you will have some resolution soon! 90 days is a long time to wait, but unfortunately pretty common in short sale scenarios. Good luck to you...