TAMPA, Fla. – Jan. 19, 2010 – Realtor Stephanie LeFew knows all too well how slow lenders can be when approving a short sale. She’s had deal after deal fall through because buyers get tired of waiting on an answer.

“I have one buyer who has been waiting for three or four months for an approval, but they’ve heard nothing back,” said LeFew, of Tampa Home Buy Realty. Some lenders take six months or longer to make a decision.

So LeFew is thankful that the U.S. Treasury Department is attempting to speed things up. The department’s new rules requiring lenders to respond to offers within 10 days could help turn the Bay area housing market around by working off inventory more quickly.

Still, LeFew and other real estate professionals are skeptical that the new rules will work.

“Ten days is very wishful thinking,” said Nick Davis, a ReMax Premier Group agent who specializes in short sales. “It would be awesome if this did work. It would mean fewer buyers walking away from deals.”

Short sales occur when the homeowner sells the property for less than what is owed on the mortgage and the lender writes off the rest. Short sales can save lenders and homeowners the expense of a foreclosure, and buyers can sometimes get steep discounts.

When deals drag on or fall through, homes are on the market longer. The longer it takes to sell the distressed properties, the lower prices will fall and the longer it will take for the housing market to rebound, Davis said.

The Treasury Department’s plan must be implemented by April 5. The rules apply to the 83 loan services participating in the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program. Those include Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

Not everyone is happy about the new requirements.

Anthony DiMarco, executive vice president of the Florida Bankers Association, said it will be difficult for most lenders to meet the 10-day deadline. Most lenders, he said, are servicers, and they have to find the investor and get them to make a decision.

“There is a magic time frame,” he said. “It could be 10 days or 100, but if you chose the wrong time deadline, it might not be reached.”

Copyright © 2010, Tampa Tribune, Fla., Shannon Behnken. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.