It is no secret that I have blogged before about the difficulty involved in closing a short sale successfully. Many agents have not ever closed one and jump into it head first with no idea as to the actual process. I am not saying that their intentions were not good, just not adequately informed. Not everyone can sell their home via short sale even if they do owe more than the home can reasonably sell in the current market. You see, there is a key ingredient in short sales which is vital to its successful closing: 
Hardship. Hardship is a very must for a lender when they are considering cooperating in a short sale. This is important to know whether you are considering buying or selling via short sale.
Short Sale Sellers: The bank is going to want to see proof. You need to have copies of pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns, etc. to document your financial situation. It is also helpful to have copies of significant medical bills if they have played a part in the situation. You will need to hand write a permission slip for your agent to be able to speak on your behalf to the lien holder. Make sure that your Realtor asks for a short sale package right away from the lender so that you can get things moving faster.
Short Sale Buyers: Have your Realtor ask if the short sale is an approved short sale complete with an element of hardship. The seller’s agent won’t always know the answer to this question because the lien holders don’t fully approve a short sale without a contract for sale, but in some cases there may have been a previous offer that was approved but fell through. Every situation is different! My last Seattle suburbs short sale closed in a little under a month from the time we wrote up the offer, so a long wait is not necessarily always the case, but more of the norm. Most short sales will take at least a month to get approved and sometimes many more months. Patience pays in these cases except that while you are waiting other offers can come in and kick you out of first position. The newer MLS addendums do a lot to alleviate this problem because they do specify whether a seller can accept other offers while waiting to hear an answer about yours.
The bottom line is that a short sale is a good option if you truly do have a financial hardship and need to sell your home –they also are a great opportunity for a patient qualified investor. If you are interested in Seattle short sales or Seattle real estate, please email me at realestate@cooperjacobs.com I know of a lot of great opportunities with short sales right now and I would love to share with you!
