{"id":25857,"date":"2024-12-20T02:14:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T10:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=25857"},"modified":"2024-12-20T18:20:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T02:20:24","slug":"buyer-how-long-does-a-short-sale-take","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-long-does-a-short-sale-take\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Does a Short Sale Take? What to Expect When You\u2019re Buying Short"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you\u2019re looking for a new home<\/a>, the process can feel endless in even the most efficient, straightforward of circumstances. Between searching for, viewing, negotiating, inspecting, and possibly renegotiating on a home, the road to the closing table is rarely a short one. And if the house you\u2019ve landed on is listed as a short sale<\/a>, you could be in for a long ride.<\/p>\n

Though short sales aren\u2019t as prevalent today as they were following the Great Recession<\/a>, they\u2019re not impossible to find, and buyers can still find good deals<\/a>. To navigate the short sale process, you\u2019ll need an experienced real estate agent<\/a> and lots of patience.<\/p>\n

Together with top agents Laura Sanders<\/a> of Coral Springs, Florida<\/a>, and Bob Wisdom<\/a> of Elgin, Illinois<\/a>, we\u2019re exploring the question of how long a short sale takes, particularly the time needed for each step in the process, helping you understand important considerations along the way.<\/p>\n

<\/div>What exactly is a short sale?<\/h2>\n

A short sale happens when a homeowner has fallen behind on their mortgage payments and is approaching foreclosure<\/a>. In a short sale, the homeowner owes more on the mortgage than the house is currently worth, and the bank has agreed to accept a lower price to satisfy the debt.<\/p>\n

A short sale can help a seller avoid foreclosure<\/a>, and \u2014 more importantly \u2014 short sales can offer real relief to a struggling homeowner.<\/p>\n

These sales take time because the bank is an active third party in the process. It isn\u2019t just a matter of buyers and sellers coming to an agreement with the help of their respective agents. The bank has to approve the price and conditions of the sale.<\/p>\n

This means that the seller needs to prove adequate hardship to justify a short sale, while a buyer needs to be qualified to make the purchase and remain flexible on the terms of the deal.<\/p>\n

Short sales are usually as-is sales<\/a>, so inspections will generally be for your own reference rather than a tool for negotiating. And because there\u2019s so much paperwork involved, and banks can take weeks (sometimes months) to process files, it\u2019s essential that both sides stay vigilant with follow-ups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How long does a short sale take? The timeline is different for short sales than a traditional real estate transaction because it\u2019s a trickier situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":25886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,629,635],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-home-financing","category-auctions-foreclosures"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Long Does a Short Sale Take? Your Ballpark Buyer\u2019s Timeline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How long does a short sale take? 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The timeline is different for short sales than a traditional real estate transaction because it\u2019s a trickier situation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-long-does-a-short-sale-take\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-20T10:14:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-21T02:20:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/how-long-does-a-short-sale-take.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"546\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Summer Rylander\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@summeroutside\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Summer Rylander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Long Does a Short Sale Take? 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