Any advice for buying a short sale?

The clock does not start ticking until lender receives the package. If that has not occured yet then no progress has been made at all.

I have one with Chase right now. My offer was 89% of current list price.

It has been 31 days since the offer was submitted to lender and still no word. I do know an appraisal was performed this week which is a key step.

My offer provided earnest deposit within 24 hours of bank's acceptance. I did not see any reason for them to have my money for 60 days while they consider the offer.

The seller's realtor keeps me informed about every 2 weeks on what is going on.

Be willing to wait at least 45 days to hear and it could approach 60. Do not expect weekly updates.

The average time to see if the lender will accept the short sale is 2.5 months.

The link below will show you how to buy a short sale cheaply and provide you with great advice, like not giving an earnest money deposit!

Good Luck

Short sales are the worst!! That is what my first house was and it was the SLOWEST close EVER. The bank is likely taking a significant hit on the house so they are doing all sorts of due diligence determining if they can do it or not. They might come back and say they need more money or just reject it all together. You CAN play some hardball with them, but honestly its in their court if they want your deal or not. I would expect another week or two of waiting.

process could take a few months. their bank needs to approve the offer as well. make sure you get a home inspection prior to signing papers since you are buying an as-is property. your real estate agent should have informed you of all of this