time frame to close a short sale (loan, property tax, approve)

[anna_mom]

thinking to buy a short sale, agent told me it will take months for the bank to get back to me which I can wait. However, he said as soon as I hear from the bank, we will need to close within 30 days, is it true?
I think 30 days to apply for a mortgage, while doable, is tight..., how do people apply for a mortgage to buy a short sale. BTW, I plan to refinance my existing house to buy the short sale...

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by anna_mom

thinking to buy a short sale, agent told me it will take months for the bank to get back to me which I can wait. However, he said as soon as I hear from the bank, we will need to close within 30 days, is it true?
I think 30 days to apply for a mortgage, while doable, is tight..., how do people apply for a mortgage to buy a short sale. BTW, I plan to refinance my existing house to buy the short sale...

Before you even start looking, I suggest you talk to your mortgage banker and find out if you qualify for your stated scenario, i.e. refinancing your current residence and buying a second property, thereby having to carry mortgages for two properties. Unless of course you believe you have enough available equity in your current home to let you pay all cash for the short sale?

And yes, it's fairly standard that once a lender approves a short sale, they also want to close within 30 days (occasionally they may agree to 45 days).

[anna_mom]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

Before you even start looking, I suggest you talk to your mortgage banker and find out if you qualify for your stated scenario, i.e. refinancing your current residence and buying a second property, thereby having to carry mortgages for two properties. Unless of course you believe you have enough available equity in your current home to let you pay all cash for the short sale?

And yes, it's fairly standard that once a lender approves a short sale, they also want to close within 30 days (occasionally they may agree to 45 days).

thanks. Our home has been paid off, the new loan is lower than our old one, hence it should not be a problem. In fact, I checked with the bank who provided the loan for our existing house, she took into consideration of both property taxes. In a second bank, they didn't even bother whether I applied the refinance for a second house, if not, the loan amount could be much higher (not that I plan to apply a larger amount)

I am concerned that I may not have sufficient time to apply for the refinance. When I checked with the banks, they would tell me it is possible. Hence I am also interested in how people guarantee that they have sufficient time (with the exception of a pile of cash sitting around)