First Real Estate Transaction - Chase Short Sale

Hi BP,

Getting started with my first purchase and it is a short sale. It's been on the market for over 200 days. A deal fell through and now it's back on the market. I wish I could find out why the last deal fell through. Bank approved price of 145k. After reading some BP posts, I concluded that bank approved price doesn't mean much, so I offered 140K. My realtor said that increasing my EMD doesn't make my offer any more appealing. The seller accepted and now the waiting game begins. The property is 1650 sq ft 3bd, 2ba next to a military base. Interestingly, the current owner has a bunch of things still in the house. You can tell they left in a hurry. It's kind of sad.

The place is in decent shape inside and out, it's been sitting without utilities for over 100 days which is a concern to be evaluated during inspection, if I make it there. The goal is to live in and remodel for 6+ months then sell for 175-185k which should be doable given the comps.  I've read that Chase implemented a 30 day short sale evaluation policy as of late 2015.  Has anyone seen that to be accurate?