Scott,

The problem is that the criteria is not the same for each lender. What is of great importance to one may only be a footnote to another.

If you choose to work short sales be prepared to bang your head against the wall. Logic is not the word of the day. Lenders go strictly by company guidelines regardless of rather they make sense or not. In addition they could care less how someone else does it.

The first thing you need to do with your clients be they Buyer's or Seller's is to prepare them for the long delays without answer. And then when they do answer chances are they may not address half of the questions you asked about.

Good luck.