Hi Shelly B,

Time frames to Close on a short sale can vary greatly, from 2 weeks to never! If you are considering purchasing a short sale, you will want to ensure you are working with a REALTOR with short sale certification and experience, . Purchasing a short sale home can allow a buyer save 10's of thousands of dollars, but be prepared to jump through a few fire hoops. And make sure you have an exit strategy, an experienced short sale professional can show you how to protect yourself and your earnest money deposit from be tied up in a transaction that has stalled.

Shelly, as the other responders have mentioned, they can vary from property to property.
The first question is, who is the bank on the short sale/seller's side? That does determine how long the transaction will take.
Second is, who is the negotiator? Does the seller's agent have short sale experience or a negotiator working on the seller's behalf?
The conditions of a short sale mostly start with a seller who can no longer afford to pay their mortgage, and owe more on their property than its current value. Thus, they must sell, but for less than what they owe on the mortgage. This puts the bank who holds the mortgage losing money on what is owed to them, which is why they are a third party to the contract.
Unfortunately there are many people in this position so the short sale departments in the banks are backed up, causing the 30-90 day delay in the bank either accepting or not accepting the terms of their loss.
This is also causing the closing delays based on other terms that come up as the contract goes along, and, in some cases, causing a buyer to get frustrated and walk away, meaning that the contract never closes and the buyers don't buy that house.
I hope this helps to explain how short sales work!
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Marney Kirk
Keller Williams Excellence Realty

The time definitely varies depending on a variety of different reasons. Some examples are: a small bank vs. a large bank, bank closings, how fast and accurate the paper work is submitted, how fast the BPO is completed (Broker Price Opinion a.k.a the appraisal that the bank uses for price comparison), and there are many more. Typically it takes 30 to 90 days to get an accepted, declined, or counter offer from the bank negotiator, but they can take longer.

A short sale is when the owner of the home has fallen into a hardship that is causing them to sell the house, but with the change in the economy the house is worth less than what they owe to the bank. The bank is asked to forgive the difference between the offer price and the balance on the loan. A bank may be willing to do this because if the house is not sold as a short sale it will, in almost all cases, become a foreclosure. Foreclosures count against the money they have available to lend and cost them money in lawyer and many other fees, plus selling the house will then lay in their hands.

If you have any more questions, you can contact me at candice@qualityhomeinvestments.com or 410-262-5039
Candice Titus
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Shelly;
I have to agree with Matthew, it can be anywhere from 2/3 weeks to in some cases, close to 6 months.
If you are the Buyer, be prepaired to wait and then at the end of that time you still may not be the "chosen one".
Your Realtor should be able to walk you through the process and set the expectations up front so that there is minimal stress to you.
Ania
AniaMiller@kw.com

A short sale if a different animal it vary's greatly. Approved or not approved loan or cash.
If you are in California it is taking about 45 days from approval.

Hi Shelly,

A closing on a short sale really depends on the Bank you are dealing with. I have had some Banks take up to 2 months to even respond to an offer while I just had one respond within 24 hours. As long as the Bank approves the short sale price agreed upon by you and the seller you can close as soon as your financing is ready to go. With short sales the Bank typically has the upper hand. Most of them are sold strictly as is since the seller usually does not have the funds to do any repairs. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks,
Matt Smoot
Home Selling Assistance Platinum
MTSmoot@hsaplatinum.com
443-504-8930