I think the biggest hurdle that most sellers have with a short sale is the worry of where to go next. After months of dealing with the bank, (often trying to work out a loan modification) the frustration and stress become paralyzing.

You've been hearing about the banks' relocation incentive for a few years now, but I'm sure a lot of people aren't sure if they really DO get the money at the end of the short sale.

I get asked this by other realtors all the time.  

Why in the world do you DO short sales?

We see the abbreviations everywhere and here are a few common ones and what they mean:

While the typical short sale is not smooth by any means, there are things that sellers can do to keep the surprises and frustrations to a minimum.

So you're in a loan modification, and you've been waiting for an answer from your bank.

Here are some questions that may help you to get a better understanding of where you REALLY stand in the process:

• • Is there a foreclosure sale date on my home?
  • (If Yes) Foreclosure date should be postponed during loan modification review
  • Am I in an active loan modification? 
  • (If Yes) What date did I go into review
  • Do you have everything you need to make a decision on my application?
  • (If No) What information do you need from me to get my application under review?
  • What income are you using to calculate my modification?
  • What expenses are you using to calculate my modification?
  • When do you think a decision will be made? (Should be less than 30 days from the date the loan modification went into review)
  • When and how do you recommend I get an update?
  • Are you the best person to call for an update
  • (If No) Could I please have the direct contact of the person I should be contacting.  What are their work hours, and what is the best means of communication (phone or email)?

The million dollar question.

The most common question I'm asked regarding a short sale is "how long will this take?"  Unfortunately, that's difficult and almost impossible to accurately pinpoint .  

There are so many factors that affect the short sale process, and here are a few that will determine how long it will take from start to close.

1. Document preparation: The banks will require you to provide bank statements, pay stubs, etc., and how quickly you can gather these documents will affect the timelines.  If I receive your documents quickly, the bank in turn will receive and process them faster.
2. The marketing process: Are buyers allowed adequate access? If your home is difficult to show, offers will not come. No offer means no short sale.
3. Backlog of your bank: If your lender has too many files in their pipeline, their negotiators get bogged down with work and turn times slow down considerably.

While sellers' preferred time frames vary considerably, banks are trying their best to get their short sales processed and closed.  Stalling for too long, or having an unresponsive bank can put you in danger of foreclosing, and the ramifications of foreclosure are often considerably more negative than those of a short sale.  

In general, I'm seeing the approval process take about 60-90 days.  This is the time form when we submit the complete short sale package (your financial paperwork & an offer) to receiving the approval letter from your bank.   

Once we have the approval letter from your bank, we open escrow.  Escrow generally takes an additional 30 days.

If you are considering a short sale, NOW is the time to act.  As of right now, the deadline to apply for a HAFA short sale (with it's $10,000 closing incentive) is 12/31/2016, so CALL US TODAY!