The short sale process, at times, can seem very overwhelming.  The following is a list of items to expect while doing a short sale on your house in the Los Angeles and Orange County, California areas.  Different states and counties have different laws, so this information may or may not pertain to you depending upon where you live.

1. The bank is going to what to see your entire financial picture.  This means you will need to provide copy of back taxes, paycheck stubs, bank statements, etc.  They will want to know what all your assets are.
2. The bank may want you to sign a promissory note for the difference.
3. When the bank gives the final approval of the short sale, they may request that the escrow close in as little as 20 days, sometimes sooner.
4. As the seller, you can not receive any proceeds from the sale.  Period.
5. Your real estate agent, title company, and escrow company may have to work for reduced fees.
6. The banks are incredibly overwhelmed with short sales and many times a decision can take upwards of 60 days; however, recently the approval process has been streamlined at many lenders.
7. Your property may be foreclosed on during the short sale process because the bank can not process the short sale in time; however, if you have a strong agent they should be able to get the foreclosure postponed.
8. Do not expect to receive any information on a regular basis.  There may be weeks that go by with no news from the lender.  This is perfectly normal.
9. The bank will want to get a BPO (broker price opinion) and/or an appraisal of your house.
10. Be patient.  This is the best policy.  Try to avoid being stressed out over something that you can not control.  If you have a well trained agent, you are in good hands.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
Mark Shandrow
Keller Williams Realty