You may be feeling frustrated that you are under contract to buy a house under short sale. In fact, you might be months into a process and are concerned that you are not getting the best service from your bank.

Please keep in mind that while the negative you are experiencing in longer wait times are a positive for the seller who needs to avoid foreclosure. Also keep in mind that each lender involved in a short sale must agree to the arrangement. Add to that that fact that with new government programs in place to help prevent foreclosure, many lenders have been working around the clock to save homes for millions of Americans.

In order to process a short sale, a lender needs to obtain many documents from the selling party, for a number of reasons. First, the lender needs to make sure the short sale is legitimate. Second, they must determine if the seller has the ability to make up for missed payments. Third, a comparison must be made to find out if the lender would get more money if the seller defaulted and then allowed the property to be foreclosed and then sold.

If you are a buyer looking to get a deal on a distressed property, you may want to consider buying a foreclosure, rather than going through a short sale. For the reasons mentioned above, a short sale can take much longer. In a foreclosure, much of the work is already done: the bank has taken back the property and any outstanding liens are removed. The lender then sues the deliquent homeowner for the amount that remained on the mortgage. At that point, the lender has only one goal: try to make some kind of profit and sell the foreclosed property quickly.

So again, keep in mind that short sales are usually a much lengthier process than buying a foreclosed home.

Another common situation many homeowners are finding themselves in is the confusing and time-consuming process of getting a loan modification. You may feel you are getting the “run-around” when you are trying your best to avoid foreclosure and utilize the tools the Obama administration has put in place, such as the home rescue programs that are being encouraged.

According to the Treasury Department, who created many of these programs, they recommend that borrowers who are having difficulty moving through the loan modification process write a clear letter that outlines all the difficulties you have had.

The more details you can include, such as dates, times, who you spoke with, the better. Keep track of employee names and their identification numbers, offices you visited or called, and copy and emails or letters you have received.

Once you have these materials, it would be a good idea to send a letter to the President or CEO of the bank or banks in question. You can usually find this using a Google or Yahoo! Search. You should send the letter via overnight mail and include a return receipt, so you will have proof that the company in question did in fact receive your letter. This is the best proof you can have. You should also send copies to the Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Keep in mind, there are many others who are struggling like you, and if many people send these kinds of letters, it could have a great impact.