How short sales work here: the lender is the seller you never meet.
A short sale is a home selling for less than its mortgage balance with the lender’s consent, and everything strange about buying one follows from that sentence. I’m Krista Fracke, and this is the process as it is practiced in Northeast Florida: who decides what, how long each step takes, what an offer has to contain, and the three points where a buyer should be ready to walk.
By Krista Fracke — Broker Associate, Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · 20+ years in Northeast Florida · 500+ closings · client reviews
The market right now: 156 short-sale listings are currently for sale in Northeast Florida, with a median asking price of $249,500. See every short sale in the MLS right now →
Live from the MLS · refreshed daily
Who is actually selling
The owner signs the listing and the contract, but the lender approves the price and the shortfall it will absorb, and a second lien holder, if there is one, has to agree too. The listing agent markets the home at a price meant to attract an offer the lender will accept, which is not the same as a price the lender has already accepted. Until the approval letter exists, the contract is a proposal.
The MLS flags these as Short Sale or Third Party Approval, which is what the list page here filters on. The remarks usually say whether the file has been submitted, whether a prior approval exists from a fallen-through buyer (the best case: the lender has already named a number), and which lender it is. Every short sale in Northeast Florida, live →
See all photosThe timeline
Offer accepted by the owner in days; package to the lender within a week or two; the lender orders its own valuation and assigns a negotiator; weeks to months of review, counter and resubmission; an approval letter with an expiration date; then an ordinary closing on a short fuse. The whole run commonly takes two to six months, longer with two lenders or a government-backed loan, and the buyer carries a contract and an interest-rate risk the entire time.
The practical consequence: a short sale fits a buyer with a flexible move date and a rate lock strategy, and does not fit a buyer who must close by a date. Bank-owned is the faster distressed purchase →
See all photosWhat the offer has to carry
A short-sale addendum that makes the contract contingent on lender approval by a date the buyer chooses, with the right to cancel after it. Proof of funds or a pre-approval the lender will read. An inspection period that starts at acceptance, not at approval, so the buyer learns what the house is before months pass. And a price with reasoning, because the lender’s negotiator is comparing it to a valuation, not to a feeling.
What it should not carry: repair requests the owner cannot fund, or closing-cost concessions the lender will strike. The lender is approving its loss; it does not pay for the buyer’s closing. The county flood map, before you offer on anything →
The honest cons
Every place worth living in has them. These are the ones I make sure my own buyers weigh before they commit — not after.
Months, not weeks
Approval runs two to six months in the usual case. The buyer carries the contract and the rate risk the whole time.
The discount is the lender’s, not yours
The lender approves a price its own valuation supports. Short sales trade near market more often than buyers expect.
As-is in practice
The owner has no money for repairs and the lender funds none. The inspection period is for deciding, not negotiating.
The part nobody tells you
The best short sale to buy is the one someone else already waited on: a listing whose remarks say a prior approval exists at a named price. The lender has done its valuation, the negotiator is assigned, and a clean new buyer can close in weeks instead of months. I read every short-sale remark for that sentence first.
This is the work I do every week. Looking at a short sale? Send me the listing and I will tell you whether the file has been submitted, whether a prior approval exists, and what the offer needs to survive the lender, before you write.
Work with Krista (904) 333-8595 Text
Broker Associate · Christie's International Real Estate First Coast · 20+ years · 500+ closings
Common questions
How long does a short sale take in Florida?
Commonly two to six months from accepted offer to approval letter, longer with a second lien or a government-backed loan, then a short closing window once the letter arrives. A listing with a prior approval already in hand can close in weeks.
Can I get a discount on a short sale?
Sometimes a modest one. The lender approves a price its own valuation supports, so the discount is bounded by that number, not by the owner’s situation. The real advantage is less competition from buyers who cannot wait.
Who pays closing costs in a short sale?
The lender pays the seller-side costs it agrees to in the approval and almost never pays the buyer’s. Build your closing costs into your own financing rather than asking for concessions the lender will strike.
Can I walk away from a short sale?
Yes, if the contract says so: a short-sale addendum with an approval deadline and the right to cancel after it, plus an inspection period that runs from acceptance. Without those two, you are waiting at the lender’s pleasure.
Short sales in Northeast Florida →
Every MLS listing flagged short sale or lender approval, live.
Short sales in Jacksonville →
Duval County, live.
Short sales in St. Johns County →
The county, live.
Buying a bank-owned home →
REO and HUD: the faster distressed purchase.
Distressed homes: what the MLS shows →
The live count by condition and county.
Want a short sale read before you write?
Submission status, prior approvals, the addendum and the walk-away dates, in one message.