SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - Because the market dropped many of you are trying to do short sales, which means you ask the bank if they will take less than you owe on the loan if you can sell your home. The banks have to approve the sale price, and Realtors say that can create delays they feel may be fueling the foreclosure crisis.

Les and Cindy Frisse should have retired in their Cape Coral Home. Life had different plans.

"We had money invested. We lost money we invested. We found our income was going to go from seven grand a month to one," says Les Frisse.

Now, they're looking for jobs and trying to short sell their home.

A buyer made a cash offer three months ago, but still they're waiting for an answer from their bank. "It wears on us," says Les.

Their Realtor, Gwen Martin, has eight houses under contract with the same problem. She took us to another Cape Coral home waiting for an answer from the bank.

"We have an offer for 150 cash and we've been working with the bank for three months. We've had nothing but problems," says Martin.

While the banks take time deciding, Martin and colleague Monika Wilson have watched prices drop.

Wilson told WINK News, "I personally had a short sale listed at 399 thousand on a golf course. I had a cash offer for $340 thousand and fast closing and after three months the bank decided they weren't going for it. And currently the same house is listed as a bank foreclosure at $230 thousand."

The two Realtors shared these figures with WINK News. Since February, Lee County has had 2017 short sale listings and only 108 closings. Meanwhile, of 2645 regular listings, they've seen 721 sales.

Some Realtors avoid the uphill battle.

"A lot of times Realtors are saying if its a short sale we are not going to show that house," says Martin.

So clients like the Frisses head into foreclosure, even with a cash offer on the table.

Les Frisse told us, "We want an answer from the bank."

Realtors WINK News spoke with say the banks need to hire more people to keep up with the paper work.

Even though it would cost them money to make the hires, the Realtors believe in the long run, it would save them money by helping them accept some good offers and preventing them the cost of going through foreclosure.