Short Sale Hurdles

Pursuing a Short Sale?
Better Be Patient

One of the reasons that a "short sale" can be so protracted is all the decision makers involved.

For those who aren't familiar, a short sale is when a listed home is worth less than the mortgage against it. Rather than foreclose, the lender can often do better, i.e., lose less money, by agreeing to instead reduce the mortgage balance it is owed.

Make that lenders, plural.

The flip side of the securitization phenomenon, by which millions of individual loans got bundled and sold to investors worldwide, is the logistical nightmare that results when housing prices tank.

Before securitization, a short sale required one lender to sign off. Now, that number can easily be 15 or 20 . . .