Short Sale Update

It has been almost seven months since we first submitted a contract for the purchase of our new casa.  I am a realtor, I know short sales take time, but this has taken sooooooo long!!! 

"A short sale is the process by which a homeowner can sell a house for less money than what is owed on the mortgage.  There are alternatives to bankruptcy or foreclosure proceedings for homeowners/borrowers who can no longer afford to keep mortgage payments current. One of those options is called a "short sale." Sometimes, to avoid going through the costs of foreclosure, a lender will sanction a short sale by allowing a homeowner to sell (allowing a buyer to purchase) the home for less than the mortgage balance while the home is in pre-foreclosure stage. "
from www.phoenix.gov
The seller took about one month to come to an agreement regarding the purchase price with us.  Once we had a contract we submitted it to an attorney with valuable short sale negotiation experience to expedite the process. 
 
The attorney gave the seller and seller's realtor a checklist of necessary documents to submit to the lender:

• Two years tax returns with W'2s
• Three months bank statements
• Current monthly budget
• All mortgages with account numbers
• Any pending bankruptcy
• Hardship letter
• Last 30 days pay stubs (if applicable)

The seller finally submitted all the paperwork around March 15, 2011.  The lender appears to be moving quickly.  The BPO was done 2 weeks ago, so we are in the final stages awaiting the lender's approval. 

We were in limbo for a long time, I didn't even want to think about it because I didn't want to get my hopes up, but now I am getting very excited.
Hopefully we'll have the approval soon...