In Florida you should also sign a short sale addendum which extends the contract for 45 days or your agent can insert another amount of days

Thank you Matt for that information. Both parties signed the Short sale Addedum, the seller cross off the time period of the first box. But signed the bottom of the form.
Does this mean I am stuck with this contract for months or years until the lender decides to approve it or decline it?

Thank you
Amy

The time periods are set out in the addendum to the contract. Short Sale Addendum the time period to conclude is generally set by the lender.

The 3rd party is the bank/lending institution that holds the 1st mortgage. Short sales can take a lot of time to be reviewed and accepted. You need to continue to be in touch with the attorney you consulted as well as the sales agent. You should not be confused and if you don't understand what they've told you should ask them to explain it to you again.
Good Luck!

"subject to 3rd party approval"? yes it does. What does it that mean?

Sorry the bank has NOT accept the offer yet. The sellers realtors stated that the bank is working on the file and this has been from the last week in May.

Short sales are indeed difficult! It is prudent that you have contacted an attorney and you should continue doing so. From what you have written -- that your offer has formally been turned down from the bank and that you have requested your escrow funds to be released back to you -- then the seller probably needs to sign that form instructing the escrow agent to release the escrow to you. This is also done all the time on transactions that are not short sales -- when the deal is dead. Did your contract with the seller state that the offer is "subject to 3rd party approval"?

Additonal information. Sorry.

The bank has NOT accepted the offer. The seller and I agree on the amount in April 08 which at that time is a $100,000 hit on the property, The sellers realtor stated their is no back up offers. The house now has another LP on the property. I have contact a attorney and they wrote a letter to the seller and sellers realtor that the deal was dead. But my realtor stated the seller needs to sign of the release form of the contract and escrow....

I am very confused. Any suggestions?

Thank you
Amy

More info is needed to answer such a question. Is the short sale approved by the bank? How much is the bank willing to forgive? How many offers have been made and rejected by the bank?

There are so short sales out there now..Some happen pretty fast and others the bank holds onto them for a while. Alot of times there are other companys involved that you do not know any thing about. Usually the seller agrees and then the bank has to appove.

Yes, please be more specific because we want to help you!

Have the bank signed on your offer? Did you get a contract to buy a short sale or did you just make an offer? Did you ask your Realtor? Did you have a real estate attorney reviewing your documents?

Hi Amy,
You really need to be a little more specific if possible and we may be able to better assist you then
Thank you.