We work with Jacksonville short sales every day. Jacksonville short sales are not a science, they are more of an art. If anyone promises you success or specific results, be cautious. There are no guarantees in the short sale process. While there are some absolutes, such as the basic information that has to be included in a short sale package, there are many more factors that vary. The process varies from bank to bank...and your experience is even different from negotiator to negotiator in the same bank.
One thing that we have found to be pretty consistent is that the short sales and loan modification attempts do not stop the foreclosure process. When we are dealing with short sales, we have to constantly stay on top of what the lender is doing.
The foreclosure departments at banks always seem to be much more efficient and on top of things than the loss mitigation departments.
We ask all of our sellers who we have Jacksonville short sales with to notify us immediately when they get correspondence from their bank or their bank's attorneys. What the proverbial "other hand" is doing can not be ignored when you are attempting to short sale your property. Staying on top of this can make the difference between a successful short sale and a short sale that is never completed because a foreclosure sale occurs.
We have to constantly request foreclosure sales be postponed. As an example, we have one particular short sale currently with Indymac that has been particularly troublesome. The sellers had attempted a loan modification. They found out a week before the scheduled foreclosure sale that the loan modification attempt would not stop the foreclosure sale. They were told by Indymac that only a short sale contract could stop the foreclosure sale. We were able to get them a buyer just in time and got the foreclosure sale cancelled the day before.
You would assume that they would give their own loss mitigation department time to process the file. Not so. Indymac's attorneys petitioned the court to reschedule the sale stating that it was cancelled to try to work out something with the homeowner but they have not been able to. Their negotiator is in possession of a complete short sale package at a price that is likely above market value at this point. She has had it for at least 45 days and has been working on it because we have been communicating with her. Yet their attorneys represent that their "attempts" have not worked. They will not cancel the new sale date yet. This is the type of thing that a Jacksonville short sale specialist has to stay on top of or risk having the home sold out from under them while the short sale is in the final stages of approval.
Make sure you, and those you hire, are paying attention if you are trying to get a loan modification or short sale your Jacksonville home.