We placed an offer on a short sale here in California on April 18th. Last month, end of June, the bank ordered the BPO. Now we are waiting for the bank to let us know if they will accept our offer. The pros on our end: Our agent and the sellers agent work for the same company and know each other. The seller has two loans both with the same bank. The seller submitted all the paperwork, according to my agent they are not missing any paper work.
It is a very long process but I believe if you are patient you will get the home of your dreams. With a good realtor of course!!!
Sounds like your agent doesn't want to or know how to deal with a short sale.
in the meanwhile we have been looking at other homes but nothing yet... good luck

Bill,

If the owners have been responsible by working with the bank, have filed their letter of hardship, and additional paperwork....if the property has been bank appraised and if the bank has appointed a loss mitigator and if the bank has identified an acceptable price.....your chances of a positive real estate experience are greatly enhanced.

On the other hand there are al lot of IF's involved ......hence, a smooth "short sale" is the exception, NOT the norm.

Our recommendation is to never eliminate "short sales" from your list of possibilities BUT, one should proceed cautiously with the above criteria in mind.

Best wishes

In situations where the banks have already agreed to some numbers and this information is available to the buyer, the buyer has a better chance. Statistically, buyers do better with bank owned properties than short sales. That said, your agent is probably your best guide in your particular situation.

Only about 10% of short sales ever get to closing. Many times buyers simply get tired of waiting. Agent experience can help - but often it is nothing more than the bank. No amount of experience can make a bank hurry up.

Expect to wait between 3-5 months for an answer. REO or foreclosure properties are the way to go.

Bill,
Short sales get a bad reputation, in the proper hands with an experienced Agent that deals with the short sales you can get a good deal and not all properties are "trashed"..I will say that a third party approval does take some time and it may takes weeks if not months to see if you are the"winner". If you have time to wait, that is fine. You can get deals that are straight forward if you look in the right places. Many Agents get frustrated with short sales, but like with anything else, if you understand the process and explain it to your Client and you set the expectations up front, then there should be no "worries"

Ania
AniaMiller@kw.com

Your agent sounds like an intelligent individual. REOs are the way to go. Good luck.