Short Selling, a Foreclosure Alternative

The prospect of foreclosure is difficult for a homeowner, but there is another option.

A little-known alternative, once more commonly used in the real estate downturn of the early '90s, is the "short sale," which works like this: A homeowner falls behind on his or her mortgage payments, usually due to a job loss, rising debt payments, or both. Facing a situation in which the home value has fallen and cannot be sold for the amount of the mortgage owed, the homeowner works out a deal with the lender to sell the home for whatever the market will bear. If the amount of the sale is for less than the amount owed on the mortgage, the lender gets the proceeds and discharges the remaining debt. The homeowner will have to leave the house as soon as it is sold.

Alternatively, with a foreclosure, homeowners who can no longer make payments are served with a notice of foreclosure, which essentially informs them to either bring the loan current or face the home being taken over and sold at a public auction, after which the homeowner will face eviction proceedings. While this process is going on, the homeowner can live in the house rent-free for up to a year, depending on that state's foreclosure and eviction laws. But this fact alone does not mean the foreclosure is better; in fact, it may be worse.