Short Sales... Not so Short!

I get many questions regarding short sales, sometimes the same questions from the same people.  What exactly is a "short sale" again? 

It's o.k. I tell them, it sounds too easy to be true.  A short sale is when the seller of a home is selling their home "Short" of the market value.  For example, a seller owes $300,000.00 on a home that will only sell for $200,000.00.  They are "short" $100,000.00.

I then explain about the one big problem, getting the bank to approve the short sale.  Of course, there are many other problems, ie:  the agent keeping the property active so other agents will continue to show and submit more offers to the bank, the seller changing their mind, the bpo(broker price opionion) coming in too high etc...

I tell all of my buyers who want to purchase a short sale, 'I will only let you write an offer on a sort sale if you can be patient and willing to wait and wait and wait...

They tell me after 3 months of waiting, "A short sale is not so short"!