So Why is your Short Sale taking so Long?

Today we had to send more information to our Realtor again. The bank is asking, again, for proof of funds on our part.  They like the information to be current, no more than 30 days old. What I'm hoping is that they are getting ready to pass the file on to the negotiator. Fat chance? Maybe? Who knows, is the most likely answer.  Since everyone (including us) is wondering why this Short Sale is taking so long, I thought I'd do some digging and try to explain, and in the process understand, what's happening behind the scene of this house purchase.

First off, what exactly is a short sale? In a nutshell, it's when the person selling the house owes more on their mortgage than the house is actually worth.  There are requirements that have to be met to be able to short sell your house but it's not important to understand why it's called a short sale or for the purpose of my explanation.  Truth be told, it would probably take too long to explain and I don't want to bore anyone (or drool on the keyboard when I fall asleep).

Our seller is dealing with 2 banks, the first is Bank of America who uses the equator system and the following steps:

• Document collection: getting information from all parties
• Lender Review: this is where we are now. I understand it as the bank reviewing the documents submitted and asking for corrections or updates as needed. We had to re-sign the original paperwork at the banks request as they wanted the sale in the seller's name and not her trust.
• Negotiation: This is where I want to be NOW. This is when the negotiator will make the decision about the sale.
• Closing: the ultimate goal is to be here, and will most likely happen quickly when and if it does happen.

Now this is the process for Bank of America. I have no idea what goes on with the other bank, which I believe is TD waterhouse. We know that they have the files, we just have to wait! I hope that explains what the process of a short sale is in a simple way! Now what I've read is that usually short sales take 3-6 months. We've exceeded that...by a lot. The Seller's new lawyer has been around since August and communication is soooo much better that I am optimistic that we will get an answer on this sale sooner rather than later. 
That's it for me today, I'm off to finish some spooky cupcakes and get ready to visit my ghouls at school for their big school dance performance! Happy Halloween!