Short Sales

Short Sales: Understanding a Lengthy Process

The phrase “short sale” is truly a misnomer for a process that can take months to complete. While short sales have become more prevalent in the market, many buyers (and sellers) don’t really understand exactly what it means. We continue to hear the surprise in client’s voices when we tell them how long short sales can take, “but we thought by the name they would be faster than normal sales?”

What is a short sale?
A short sale occurs when a homeowner attempts to sell their property for a price below their mortgage amount. The tricky part is that the lender has to accept taking less than what they are owed. The most obvious difference between a short sale and foreclosure is the ownership. In a foreclosure the bank owns the house, in a short sale a private owner owns it, but needs approval from the bank to sell it. Read more