Real Estate Advice: Backup Offer in a Short Sale

If the bank does not approve the contract, and submits a counter, and the buyer subsequently walks, then the seller will not necessarily have to relist the property. Once the current contract is canceled, the seller can accept the new offer and it will be submitted to the bank for approval. The good news is that at this point, the listing agent should know what terms are required to get an approval from the bank. And you can submit your offer with those terms in place, if both you and the seller agree to them. From this point forward what happens will really depend on who the lender is. Some lenders will be able to approve the short sale relatively quickly because the “investors” have already stipulated their terms and they are already far along in the short sale process. However, some lenders start from the beginning because it’s a new buyer.
Your agent should be able to ask these questions of the listing agent so that you will know what to expect.