How long should I expect to wait for bank approval for a short sale?

My husband and I just put in an offer for a house that is a short sale. The seller approved, and today the realtor sent the paperwork to Countrywide for them to approve it. I heard it can take months for them to respond, but the house already has an appraisal on file at Countrywide and I was told that Countrywide just recently got a short sale “department” to speed up the process. Anyone have any idea or estimate of how long we will be waiting for a response?

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