Getting into real estate can be a very daunting experience when you don’t know anything about short sales.

This is because many times when you go to the MLS or you have your real estate agent check the MLS for properties, many of them say that the price is “subject to the lenders approval” or something along those lines.

What this means is, although the property is listed at a certain price, it is up to the bank to decide if they are going to sell it for such a price.

The good thing is that the price is way less (from 50 to 80 percent) of the original price. Therefore, you can purchase a home with lots of equity in it.

However, the bad thing about short sales is that the banks take their time to give you their approval.

This can sometimes kill the deal because if you are financing through the bank, and they give you an approval for the loan, that approval has an expiration date.

If you don’t close within two days that they give you an approval, they will start to look at your file again trying to see if something is wrong.

Now although your file may be tight, this can still open a can of worms that you don’t want open.

The best thing is to keep an open relationship with your mortgage broker and let them know the closing is contingent on the property’s bank’s approval.