Today a real estate agent questioned whether or not one of my short sale listings would be approved faster IF the buyer was paying cash.
Unfortunately cash buyers will have to wait in line just like buyers who are obtaining financing. Short sale lienholders are focusing on their bottom line, not the buyers financing terms and the length of time a short sale takes to be approved (or denied) ultimately depends on the short sale seller, short sale listing agent and lienholders.
Is the short sale seller cooperating?- Is the short sale agent on top of things?
- Are the lienholders responsive and processing the file?
Now once the short sale is approved a cash buyer definitely has the advantage over a buyer who’s obtaining financing because they can remove outstanding contingencies quickly and close, but I have yet to see a short sale lienholder approve a short sale faster because the buyer is paying cash and could close “quickly.”
Unfortunately cash buyers and buyers obtaining financing are in the same boat when it comes to the length of time it takes for a short sale to be approved.
