How Does Short Sales Work
The short sale is simple in theory. You owe more than the home is worth or you can no longer pay the mortgage payments so in order to sell without bringing money to the table yourself you must convince the bank that you have financial hardship and cannot make the payments. The bank may then agree to take a lower payoff than the total loan amount. Example: if you owe $350,000 but can only sell for $300,000 then the bank will be "forgiving" $50,000 in debt. But, at least you've sold the home and avoided foreclosure. In practice, the short sale usually isn't that simple. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. A short sale package must be put together to show bank hardship, inability to pay, the homes value, repairs, net to the bank after-sale, etc. It will be the bank's decision whether or not to accept or reject an offer. The bank will have the final say over any offer you accept because the offer will be less than your loan payoff. Banks can take their tim