[ramonesfreak]

the short sale is nothing more than a foreclosure alternative requested by the defaulting homeowner. when in foreclosure, (in NY) you have options to modify the loan, deed-in-leu, cash-for-keys and short sales...if the homeowner doesnt qualify for a modification, and it benefits the owner of the Note (bank) to approve a short sale, then they do (subject to investor restrictions). I see many short sales close without issue and quite a few fall apart usually when its discovered that the seller is trying to sell to his kid or other family member...or, more typically, when the bank's appraisal comes in at a higher value than the seller's appraisal..in which case, it makes no sense for the bank to approve it