WELCOME.  This forum is for YOU.  Please take a moment to introduce yourself, look around, and participate in the discussions that are just starting up!!

I closed 2 this year with immediate response from the bank for my buyers.  I shopped for short sales that had already been under contract and the buyers gave up, the listing became active again.  The bank had already negotiated the sale price for the first buyer and we slid right in.  One closed in 30 days (the attorney had to appeal to the bank to hold off foreclosure auction), the other one closed in 45 days because it went FHA and took time for appraisal.  When shopping for a buyer, I will check to see if both mortgages are from the same lender, two lenders are tough. Also, sometimes the listing agent on a short sale will drop the price if the first contract is dropped, ask for the price the bank approved the first time and offer that, it's already approved except for the new buyer.  It's still probably a sweet deal.

My story may support what Janice is saying.  I've been in the midst of an interesting short sale experience.  Back in February, I submitted two offers on behalf of my clients.  Both buildings were owned by the same person and the mortgage was held by the same bank.  The bank immediately accepted an offer from another buyer for one of the properties.  We negotiated on the other property and ended up under contract.  By the way, the bank quoted the price that was in our contract; not us.

Then...the bank's negotiator calls me up and requests more money on the grounds that they made a mistake, and the price they quoted was the amount they wanted to net.  Nice Try!  Given that I felt we were already generous, I advised my clients against offering more, and they followed my queue.  We had no deal. 

I can write pages about the subsequesnt interactions; but to make a long story short,...

The listing agent (who truly has her client's best ineterst in mind) and the negotiator called me back and requested we reconsider submitting an offer.  We had a professional appraisal done and went under contract in May at a price that is $60,000 below where we were before and what the bank "wanted to net."  In August, I got more calls and we went under contract for the second property at the same price.  (The other buyer was out of the picture for various reasons.) 

Now, the really interesting part is that we closed on the second property in October, less than 2 months after signing an agreement.  On the other hand, we have always been the only parties innvolved in the purchase of the first property, we've been under contract for that since May, and we still haven't closed.  Same seller, same bank.  We now have a tentative closing date of January 17th--8 months after signing the agreement.  Seemingly, there's no rhyme or reason behind the timelines for short sales.  What I would advise is, if you're willing to venture into the world of short sales, set the expectations of your buyers before they even look at a short sale.  Make sure they're comfortable with the potentially lengthy process.  They may close in a month; they may close in a year.  (Janice may have unveiled a good reason why timelines may vary.)  I told my buyers to forget we even had contracts.  It worked and put them at ease, and it was easy for them to do because...guess what...we never gave a penny in earnest money.

Hi my name is Lisa Lewis and I am in Fayetteville NC, where are you located? That post was directed to Jenice Ewert who closed the two short sales last year.