I just wanted to send a small shout out to people buying short sales….
The short sale process has been refined by the banks in the last two years. That being said they will still take at least 8 weeks for you to get the written approval from the bank so you can move ahead with the purchase. I have recently had a realtor tell me that for his short sales he requires the buyer to have an addendum that locks them into the purchase for at least 90 days, and if they do not want to they can “go pound sand” well, I am not sure that is the way to go but I do think the buyers need to be aware that it takes approx 8 weeks to get an approval from the bank when you are using the equator system ( website set up for B of A, and now wells fargo and a few others) When you are going the call and wait route it could be a bit longer. When the buyer makes an offer, the listing agent will take the best and highest offer to upload to the bank. When they do they must mark the listing pending subject to lender approval. The agent will then begin the task of getting the offer accepted by the bank and it investors. When the buyer backs out after 6 or 7 seven weeks (for no reason) or because they continued to search for a home and found one they like better, the listing agent has worked to close the sale for nothing and has to go back to the MLS get a new offer and start over! So, buyers do not make an offer on a short sale property unless you are commited to buying the property and are willing to see the short sale process through. You waste everyones time, including your own.