Purchasing a short sale property is a very long process.
Maybe I'm generalizing too much. Perhaps there are financial or lending institutions out there that are much more efficient at responding to buyers' offers, but I have yet to come across one.
Very briefly, a short sale describes the situation where sellers are asking their lender to accept a sales price less than the total amount of the outstanding loan. It is a chance for both the seller and the lending institution to avoid the foreclosure process.
I've assisted several clients in making offers on potential short sale properties before, but after months of waiting (yes, months) they have all decided to look else where.
Right now, I am currently working with two different families that have both made very strong offers on properties that are in the potential short sale stage. I submitted the first family's offer on December 12th. We were told initially we would have an answer by January 2nd. On January 2nd, the only response we got was a request that the listing agent not ‘bother' them (the bank) again until after the 20th. We were told that any calls prior to the 20th would only delay the process further. The sellers' agent made his follow-up call on the 20th, and we were told we would hear something early next week...
The second couple made their offer in early January, and still no word from the bank.
To make a long short sale story short... If you have the luxury of time on your side, have patience of steel, and can maintain some level of emotional detachment - short sales can be a great opportunity to get a good deal when buying a home. If you need to move sooner rather than later or can't stomach the idea of waiting for a month (or more) to get a response on an offer you've made - attempting a short sale purchase probably isn't for you.
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