Short sale purchase from an estate

[Bryan Ellis]

Does anyone have any experience in dealing with short sales from an estate. I have tended to ignore them but there are several coming up in this area that I'd like to look at. A few questions come to mind

1. First off is it possible to short an estate property since the mortgage holder is now deceased.
Assuming it is
2. I'm thinking that we'd have to include a death cert and copy of the will appointing an exector/exectress to establish that the person we have signing is legally able to do so. What other unusual documents should we look at.
3. In terms of marketing, what are the benefits to the estate to a short sale. Obviously they're not going to worry too much about credit repair which is the usual pitch. I suppose it might be quicker to do a short but that isn't guaranteed with the 4-6 month lag in getting a short negotiated.
4. What are the liabilities to the heirs in the event of a foreclosure and/or short sale. Can the bank get a judgement which would require the bank accounts be emptied to pay the debt before the heirs can inherit? And if they can, is it worthwhile?