QUESTION: I see many listings online that state "Short Sale, please allow 3-5 months to process.
" What does "Short Sale" mean and why does it take so long to process?

ANSWER: I am ask this question here in Las Vegas almost on a daily basis, especially now since "Short Sales" seem to be dominating the market.

The term "Short Sale" occurs when you "owe" more on your home than what it could sell for and you need your lender approval to sell the home. "Short" meaning the lender will be "short" the difference between what it will sell for and what you owe. If you have 2 loans, you would need to get both lenders approval the transaction.

A "Short Sale" is "Not" usually a short process. Here are just some of the things that can make a "short sale" take 3-5 months.

A Short Sale will take longer because your lender will want to verify your hardship (hardship = you need to sell due to loss of income, divorce, job transfer, you can't refinance, etc).

They will usually ask for all your financial information to prove this "hardship" and review all this information. (paystubs/unemployment check copy, bank statements,etc).

Once an offer is sent into the bank, they also will want to appraise the home to make sure the offer is within a reasonable price point as to the comparable homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood. They may even want to check out the buyers prequalification to make sure their preapproval letter is solid.

Then, they review everything they may also have to get the "investors" approval of the sale as well. "Investors" are the persons/corporation/bank, etc that actually own stock in your loan, there may be several "investors", that may or not be the actual bank that you make your mortgage payment to.

Also, make sure you are working with a REALTOR® who knows how to do short sales or this may also delay the process.

All these steps take time and the banks are inundated with short sales, loan modifications and foreclosures so bear with them and your REALTOR®.