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A short sales is one of the tools mortgage lenders use in soft real estate markets to deal with the high tide of foreclosures they're experiencing today. When a homeowner with a high mortgage balance gets behind on his loan payments, a lender has a decision to make related to how to handle the default. He can either start foreclosure procedure or try to get the homeowner to sell the property and pay off the loan.

If the owner decides that it's preferable to sell the home, in many cases lenders are willing to accept a payoff amount that is actually far less than the current loan balance. Especially in a difficult real estate market, lenders would often rather give homeowners a fighting chance at selling the property by allowing them to list and sell it under market price before the foreclosure auction. When a home is sold for an amount that will not pay off the entire mortgage balance, this is called a short sale

Though it may seem surprising, many lenders will authorize the sale of a home at a price that will not pay off the existing loan balance that the lender is owed. These short sales are lender-approved sales in an attempt to avoid foreclosure. By facilitating a short sale, lenders mitigate or minimize the losses suffered as a result of foreclosure.

It seems strange that lenders would approve a short sale, knowing that financial loss will result. Why is this so? Lenders use this strategy to avoid foreclosing on a property because an actual foreclosure is an extremely costly process. Not only must the lender repossess the home and resell it, but there are legal fees, insurance, taxes, real estate commissions, lost interest revenue and eviction costs as well.

The net amount available to pay the lender is often more with a negotiated short sale than a home acquired through foreclosure and then resold to the highest bidder. Lenders are now so overwhelmed with REOs (repossessed homes) that they simply can't afford to add more foreclosure homes to an already enormous roster of non-income generating assets. The soaring costs of foreclosure aren't the only reason that lenders look to short sales as an alternative.

They also face major scrutiny from local municipalities to maintain their repossessed empty houses in good condition in order to keep drug related activities away, as well as reduce the vandalism. Some local government go as far as filing lawsuits against lenders who have a high number of REO properties in the area causing further expenses and losses. Under these circumstances a quick short sale settlement may look likeas a desirable alternative to foreclosure.

Many lenders slash prices deeply in an attempt to get rid of their crowded REO inventory, and lenders now realize just how much of a financial burden a large inventory of REO homes can be. Because of this, lenders are very motivated to avoid foreclosing on homes in the first place. Short sales have become so common that many lenders now have specialized staff on hand whose primary job is to handle short sale offers submitted on properties in foreclosure. Lenders are pulling out all the stops to avoid foreclosing on properties that add to their growing inventory of foreclosure homes with high ownership costs and associated expenses.

For those who buy homes through a short sale process, there is a golden opportunity to buy a home at a deep discount prior to the public foreclosure auction. Consider though that a short sale can only take place with lender approval. For investors, short sales present an opportunity to buy and resell a property at a significant profit, or to convert the property to a rental for ongoing cash flow.

What do homeowners gain from a short sale? In the current economic downturn, increasing numbers of homeowners are out of work. Without a steady paycheck, many families simply can't maintain their mortgage payments and are facing the possibility of foreclosure.

Imagine owners who have an over-financed house with high payments they can no longer afford. A short sale is often the only way for them to gracefully escape from their tough situation. For you as an investor a short sale is a unique selling proposition to foreclosure marketing and making great profits.