Currently major lenders are taking up to 10 days to upload files into their systems, if the file is accepted for a short sale a negotiator will be assigned. Level 1 is 15 days, then a second negotiatior is assigned this can take up to 30 days & sometimes a 3rd negotiation will be assigned another 30 days as this negotiator will decide and prepare documents either for the investor or for the foreclosure department, If they are accepting the Short Sale the negotiator sends documents to the investor and the investor has another 30 days to decide if they accept or not. The good news is that if you are patient you will probably get a really good property for an exceptional price. The realtor working the file must be diligent, and make sure that every document is presented as the file will be trashed if they don't have what they want in it. This process is not for the faint of heart but for the diligent. Be prepared for up to 90 days. If the realtor is working with a local lender the process will take less time depending on volume and knowledge of both lender and agent working the file.

Short Sale? 45 days? You need to get comfortable my friend! There are generally 3 stages to a short sale process. The 1st stage takes about 45 days. You will likely not know what stage negotiation you are in, nor the seller. The banks are overloaded (understand the short sale dept is likely not in Hot Springs) which usually means there is a stack of files from all around the country they are dealing with. AND your Realtor better be saavy with the process or you will be back at Stage 1 with your offer being re-submitted all over again because you were missing just the slightest document. It takes a lot of phone calls from the agent and a lot of follow ups. Some of the follow ups are simply to be certain 1 department got all the docs to the next department so your file doesn't get trashed! Get comfortable, its a long ride. While it can be quicker, each stage usually takes about 45-60 days.