Q: how long would a short sale take approx (months) in Pennsylvania if you have a 1st & 2nd mortgage and a lein on average?
Allegheny county
A:
To complete a "short sale", you need to procure the consent of the mortgage holders. Both of them, because your buyer will want to take legal title free of all liens and encumbrances. In other words, you need to persuade both lenders that the best way for them to be repaid is from a sale of the house at this time; if either, or both, of the lienholders will not be paid in full by the sale proceeds, then they will surely want to preserve the right to proceed against you personally for any deficiency.
The same analysis holds true if you file for bankruptcy relief- the bankruptcy court cannot order a sale of property which will not pay off the lienholders in full. You could, however, in a bankruptcy, opt to "surrender" the property to the lienholders in satisfaction of their respective secured claims (they will be secured to the extent of the fair market value of the property).
A: To your question about timing- that depends entirely upon on how long it takes to get both mortgage holders to agree to your proposed sale, and that means that you will need to show them a written, binding offer to purchase with a specified purchase price. If everyone is agreeable, your short sale becomes like any other real estate sale, and both you and your purchaser can decide how quickly to complete the sale.
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