You will likely be working with a person in the "loss mitigation" department. Loss mitigation explains their goal - mitigating how much money they lose on this loan. It's not about how much money the homeowner is going to lose. From your first contact with the lender, be courteous, but professional. You should have sent along written authorization from the borrower for you to work with the lender. Make the first phone call with the borrower present to verify details with the lender's representative.
From the first phone call, always assure the lender that you are available to answer questions or gather more information. If your short sale package was thorough, it is likely that you will just be waiting for approval. The quality of your market analysis and comparable properties is important, and there may be questions as to how you chose them.
If the lender contacts you with a difference of opinion as to the offer price and your valuation, be ready to defend your comparables and calculations. They may have just paid for a drive-by BPO, Broker Price Opinion. Your more thorough photos and details may do the trick.
Once you get an approval, the statement that they will accept a "short payoff," act quickly to pull the closing together. Most approvals have a time limit, many only 30 days. If you aren't closed within that time, the deal could be over forever.
