Homeowner’s are finally realizing the real estate market has truly shifted with no relief in sight. For many Homeowner’s, their mortgage payment has become too high for them to afford for various reasons. If you find your-self in a position where you can no longer afford your home and your loan amount is more than it is worth, you do not qualify for a Loan Modification, or you just need to sell your home, then a Short Sale may be your best option.

Simply put, a "Short Sale" occurs when a Homeowner is upside down on their mortgage and ends up selling their property for less than what is owed on their mortgage. The lender agrees to accept the lesser payment to satisfy the loan amount. The seller receives no money from the sale of the home and the lender does not report a foreclosure to the credit bureau.

To qualify for a "Short Sale", the Homeowner must demonstrate a hardship and be financially insolvent. The Homeowner should be able to demonstrate inability to make the loan payment. Most importantly, the homeowner must prove a willingness to cooperate with the process.

The mortgage lenders are already overwhelmed with losses due to the foreclosure crisis, with an enormous inventory of foreclosed properties. They are now more willing than ever to accept a Short Sale.

A Short Sale can be a Win-Win-Win situation for seller, buyer and lender. Here's how:

• The seller gets out of the mortgage liability without facing bankruptcy or foreclosure.
• The buyer gets the home at a reduced price.
• The lender agrees to a loss it considers minimal, without going through a foreclosure and being saddled with an un-salable property.
  

While it may seem surprising that lenders would agree to accept less than what they are owed, they benefit from the process, too.

The lender benefits by not having to go through the protracted process of foreclosing on the borrower and then having to put the property on the market and then go through the whole marketing process.

A market saturated with foreclosures can cost lenders billions -- and as much as $50,000 per foreclosure.

All lenders have a pre-determined criteria for approving Short Sales. Multiple levels of conditions and approvals must be obtained and are very common with Short Sales. The wide range of individuals and processes involved with the lender makes it a very complicated and difficult feat to get a Short Sale approved. Due to inexperience and lack of knowledge Short Sale deals have a very high failure rate, unless they are handled by an experienced Short Sale Negotiator.