ORLANDO, Fla. — In a move that could improve the hard hit local housing market, Bank of America says it plans to speed up the process of short sales. Short sales should now take days instead of months.
A Heathrow short sale has been on the market for two days. Listed at $259,900, Ray Lopez is expecting multiple offers on the 2,900 square foot home.
Potential buyers shouldn’t have to wait long to find out of an offer is accepted. On Saturday, Bank of America is rolling out changes to its short sale computer database aimed at reducing approval times to 20 days, versus 45 days or longer.
“Most people will wait 20 days, they just don't want to wait two, three, four, maybe six months,” said Ray Lopez with Keller Williams Advantage II.
The new changes will allow short sales specialists like Lopez to determine buyer eligibility, complete document collection, and property valuations simultaneously for buyers.
A Bank of America specialist told WFTV that a 20 day window is a goal, not a given.
“If you can tell someone ‘if you make a bid on this short sale we can have an answer in 20 days’, that’s almost as good as a traditional sale,” Lopez said.
Still, the reality is foreclosures and short sales make up roughly half the home sales in the Orlando metro area.
Bank of America will limit potential buyers to two counter offers.