How Short Sales Work at Each Major Lender (Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo)

The universal truth

No two short sales are identical, but every lender wants the same basic package:

• Hardship letter
• 2 years of tax returns
• 2 months of bank statements (all accounts)
• 2 recent pay stubs (per wage earner)
• Financial worksheet
• Signed listing agreement
• Buyer offer with preapproval
• Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

What varies is the portal, the timeline, and how much back-and-forth you can expect. Here's what I see from the major servicers.

Bank of America

• Uses Equator, the industry-standard short-sale portal.
• Expect ~90 days from complete offer package to approval.
• End-to-end: typically 3–5 months from listing to close.
• FHA Preforeclosure Sale (PFS) program: homeowner gets a 120-day marketing period.
• Relocation assistance of $3,000–$10,000 is sometimes available under HAFA or BofA's proprietary programs.

Chase (JPMorgan Chase)

• Mix of proprietary portal and Equator depending on loan type.
• FHA loans: surprisingly fast — 45–60 days from complete offer.
• GSE / portfolio loans: 60–120 days.
• Responsive once the file is complete. They penalize incomplete packages with slower turns.

Wells Fargo

• Requires the standard package plus a detailed CMA.
• Typical timeline: 60–120 days.
• Historically more aggressive about requiring a deficiency contribution on non-purchase-money loans — but this largely goes away in Arizona for qualifying owner-occupied properties under ARS §33-814(G).
• Always push for a written deficiency release in the approval letter anyway; a short sale is a voluntary sale and the anti-deficiency statute doesn't automatically apply.

Rocket Mortgage

• Primarily a servicer for FNMA, FHLMC, FHA, and VA loans — so timelines and documentation mirror GSE/HUD guidelines.
• Strong digital submission process. 60–90 days typical.

U.S. Bank

• Published "Pre-foreclosure Sale / Short Sale / Deed in Lieu" program.
• Relocation assistance may be available at completion.
• Timeline: 60–120 days typical.

Arizona-specific things I push on

1. Written deficiency waiver on every short sale. Out-of-state servicers sometimes don't realize ARS §33-814(G) doesn't automatically apply to a voluntary short sale. I make them put the release in writing. Every time.

2. Second-lien negotiation. AZ has no statutory cram-down for junior lienholders in a short sale. If you have a HELOC or second mortgage, the second lender has to agree separately. I handle both negotiations.

3. Trustee's sale postponement requests. Filed in parallel with the short sale package. Most lenders will postpone the sale once a complete package is in review.

4. Buyer protections. Arizona closings are handled by title/escrow companies, not attorneys. That speeds execution once approval lands — but only if the buyer is properly vetted upfront.

What slows a short sale down

• Incomplete paperwork. A missing tax return, a stale bank statement — any of these sends your file to the back of the queue.
• Multiple offers that keep changing. Each price change resets some lender reviews.
• Second lienholders who won't agree. Rare, but when it happens, it's the biggest delay.
• Bankruptcy filings by other parties (a co-borrower, a seller's other creditor) — creates legal holds that unwind slowly.

What speeds a short sale up

• A complete package on day one.
• A qualified cash or conventional buyer with no financing contingency risk.
• Known escrow/title company with short sale experience.
• Agent who pushes the file daily — not weekly, not "when I hear back."

Every lender is different, but the work is the same. The difference is how hard and how often I push.