Is the nightmare short sale timetable becoming more manageable?

Is everyone starting to figure out this short sale business? Several Realtors have bragged to me this year about their easy short sales, and none have shared any horror stories about unbearable delays or mounds of red tape. Their advice is still the same as it was last year -- "Short sales are fine, if you're patient" -- but these days they say it in a normal speaking voice, rather than with hushed or gloomy tones.

I thought about that this week while sifting through some of the new homes on the market in Uptown. In his listing for a short sale at 905 W Belle Plaine Ave, Joe Green of Keller Williams - Lincoln Park promises a response from the bank within 21 days. I don't know if three weeks is an exception to the rule or the new norm, but it sounds reasonable enough.

The 2,500 square-foot, three-bedroom duplex in Buena Park sold in December 2006 for $348,000 and is now on the market for $279,900. It features hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, a wood-burning fireplace and a deck; the kitchen needs some work following an aborted renovation, but it's "livable," according to Green's listing.

The century-old six-flat is located just off of Broadway, about two blocks west of the Waveland golf course in Lincoln Park.