A short sale is truly a win-win situation for all parties involved. A short sale occurs when a lender accepts less than what is owed on a property. This is becoming extremely common in today's market due to the incredible amount of 100% financing that took place over the past few years. Unfortunately due to the slowdown in the market, many homeowners across the country have been left with a mortgage balance that is more than what their house is worth. Due to the fact that there is negative or no equity, these homeowners cannot refinance or sell their properties unless they have thousands or often hundreds of thousands to make up the difference.

In this situation a short sale is often the best option available. Here is why short sales are a win-win for all parties involved:

1) Homeowners are winning because they avoid Foreclosure which is devastating to their credit and they are usually able to get a settlement in full, which means the lender cannot come after them for the difference between what was owed and what it sold for. The homeowner also typically does not pay any commissions or closing costs, those costs are paid by the lender so there are typically no out of pocket expenses to the seller.

2) Buyers that are purchasing short sales are winning because they are getting the best below market deals available. Our short sales are often purchased for 15%-20% below comparable sales. Why would anyone pay market value for a property when these kinds of discounts are available?

3) The lenders that are accepting the short sale are winning because they get to cut their losses. If a lender has to go through a foreclosure process they will have to pay attorney fees, auction fees, they will not get paid on their loan for months, the property will not sell at foreclosure auction because bidding usually starts at what is owed, and they will then have to take back the property and sell it at a loss after all that. A short sale allows them to just take the loss now and save themselves the extra expenses and headache associated with foreclosure.

4) Real Estate Agents win because the lenders that take the short still pay a commission to the realtors involved. This means that realtors are getting amazing discounts for their clients that are normally unheard of, but they are still getting paid their commissions.