Short sale taking too long?? What can I do?

Question

Okay, I am new to REI and am writing this post while out of the office. So, needless to say I am not in possession of my exact offer dates and info. That being said I wanted to get some advice on a not so recent short sale offer we made on a Tri-Plex. I'm not so concerned with the cash flow and investment numbers in this case as I am with what actions I can take or questions I can ask my realtor to be more informed of the process and hopefully expedite the closing process.

So as I said I don't have all of the exact info but here are the basics.

Short Sale list price $147,000

Offer Price: Cash offer $127,500 (made in Aug 2015)

Action: Offer accepted by the seller and moved to the bank for review (Aug / Sept 2015)

Most recent update from Chase: (email from bank official regarding the deal ) valuation was completed the end of last week.  I just checked with the bank and they have not received it back yet.  It can take several days before the bank will receive it but I called to also see if the file was assigned to a negotiator yet.  It isn't but last week they said that could take 7-10 business days.  (January 26th 2016)

My Question:  I guess I am not so much concerned but questioning the time line here. I know that short sales can take quite a while but is this normal? Should I expect for this deal to not pan out? Am I being to easy on my realtor? Should they be more on top of this deal maybe than they are? As I said I am fairly new to the REI world so I may not be fully articulating the information you need to help answer my question so please just ask and I'll help clarify the deal or follow up with my realtor for more recent info.

Thank you so much!

Wayne Brooks · Answer

Frankly, this is the stage you should have been at 30-45 days after offer sibmittal.  Either whoever is negotiating the short sale is just sitting on their hands, or the sellers took months to supply the required documents to the bank.  It's highly unlikely they'll give it to you, but I'd ask for screen shots from Equator.  This is the communication platform Chase does their short sales on, where all documents are uploaded along with communications, and it will show the dates and events that have occurred.  But, having said that, it will be a couple of week or so before the valuation(BPO) is reviewed and any response expected, assuming someone's stays on top of it.

Sarah Ziehr · Answer

It could be 6 months before you get a yes/no back from the bank and there is nothing you or your Realtor can do to expedite the process.

Do you know how many investors/liens there are? The more investors there are, the more time it will take.

What do the comps look like? If the comps were around $147k then there is no way the bank is going to accept $127,500.

I wish you the best of luck, but with a short sale there are a lot of unknowns. I would not count on this one, but hang in there and be prepared for the bank to come back and ask for fair market value. Chase will be more than happy to reject the short sale and at that time the current homeowners can scramble to save their property- and if that doesn't happen, it will go into foreclosure. If that happens, you may be able to purchase the property in the future.

Garrett Diegel · Answer

Thank you all for your responses. It really helps keep me positive while waiting months for a deal. But, if it is a good deal then it is worth the wait. Good news - in the meantime, while waiting, I got my real estate license exam passed!! Good way to spend the time while I waited I suppose.

Ryan Lee · Answer

I would be prepare if it goes to auction as plan B.

David Dachtera · Answer

@Garrett Diegel,

There is nothing "short" (in terms of time) about a short sale aside from the money the bank receives versus what it paid out.. Ask any banker who posts here.

Short sales are what you do while you have other projects in progress.

David J Dachtera

"Success is not a destination. Failure is not an event. Success is a process, failure is a choice."- DJ Benedict

Daniel DeBono · Answer

Alsee, you are dreaming ...

Daniel DeBono · Answer

Bhahah - a couple of these responses are funny! I have been involved with plenty of short sales (successful and not) that took over a year. A couple 2 years. Most about 4-6 months. These people saying "stay on top of your Realtor" (or negotiator) are not experienced with many or lucky. There is usually NOTHING anyone can do most times (the only thing I'd say to agree with these statements is make sure the ball is always in the bank's court and get anything/everything back to them ASAP.

Alsee Mccray · Answer

A short sale should not take more than 60 days and can be don in as little as 30 days, all you have to do is constantly follow up call the bank 3 times a week. but if you are not handling it your self as an agent  then you are at the whim of some one else who is handling it.

Garrett Diegel · Answer

Thank you all for your help. I essence it sounds like I am still in an okay position even though it may have been help up on the seller / bank side. We'll just sit tight and see what happens as the deal progresses.

Short sale taking too long?? What can I do?

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