How long does the owner get to have the house under short sale? Is there a time frame before the lender will take it back and foreclose on the house?

Short sale isn't a period, or a state that the property is in - like foreclosure. It's a description of the type of sale. Example: It was a full-price sale. Or It was a short sale. (meaning the lender is accepting less than what is owed on the property to satisfy the loan.)

Do you know how many payments behind the seller is? Different lenders will let things go for different lengths of time before they officially begin foreclosure proceedings. And, you could still have a short sale up to the moment a foreclosed property is auctioned off on the courthouse steps. Actually, many foreclosure sales are short sales come to think of it.

Did that help?

Karla
P.S. Did you call your realtor, by the way?