There are several stages that are involved with the Short Sale process…

(1) The first stage requires the homeowner to gather all of the required documentation that the bank will need to start the process. This stage shouldn’t take a seller longer than a couple of days.

(2) The second stage involves preparing the listing paperwork and scheduling an appointment to see the home. This is where pictures are taken, home value is determined and all the paperwork that was gathered in stage (1) is collected. This ideally only takes one appointment.

(3) The third stage entails sending the short sale packet into the lien holder(s), getting the BPO (Brokers Price Opinion) ordered and aggressively marketing the home for sale and producing a willing, ready, and serious buyer. Getting an offer can take as little as a few days or as long as a few months. In most cases if your home is priced right getting an offer should take 0-45 days.

(4) The fourth stage is the actual presentation of the offer to the bank. This is where having an experienced agent in Short Sales is a must. The actual negotiation/approval process can take as little as 2 weeks or as much as 3 months. On average most Short Sales take between 30-90 days from the date the offer is presented to the lender to the date of the Short Sale approval. In most cases, 60-90 phone calls and faxes back and forth between the lender and realtor are required. The process is usually not described as “fast” in most cases.
 

(5) The fifth and last stage to the Short Sale process is the period of time between Short Sale approval from the bank and the buyer closing on the home. Buyers should be ready to close in as quickly as 3 weeks, no later than 45 days from the time of Short Sale approval. Often cash buyers will close in as little as 10-14 days.