A short sale often presents a good option for homeowners who are in danger of foreclosure or in default because of documented financial hardship.

The benefits of a short sale include:
1. A less severe hit to your credit history than what you’d experience with a foreclosure.

2. You continue to live in your house until the sale takes place.

3. In some cases, banks are offering homeowners cash incentives to do a short sale (to help with sales and moving expenses).

Because your credit history won’t take as long to recover with a short sale as it would with a foreclosure – an average of two years versus seven years – the short sale option is great for sellers who want to own a home again in the near future.

Has your bank already contacted you?
Some banks have launched programs to prequalify homeowners for short sales. Through their records and housing data, they identify borrowers on their books who are in negative-equity situations. In this case, some are reaching out to borrowers in an attempt to further streamline the short sale process.

This makes it much easier for you, the seller, to proceed with a short sale.