The definition of "short sale in real estate is" - A lender of a property allows the property to be sold for less than the remaining balance on the mortgage loan.
Example of Short Sale
The sellers can sell their home for $170,000 in the current market, but they owe $200,000 (mortgage loan balance) plus $10,500 in selling costs. So in order to complete the sale the bank has to agree to take a loss of $45,500 ($200,000 + $10,500 -$170,000 = $45,500). Why would a bank do this? This type of sale is less damaging to the bank's bottom line. An outright foreclosure is much more expensive for the bank and will probably result in a bigger loss. Also the property will be abandoned and will certainly deteriorate over time resulting in a lower price. While the sellers and their agent are negotiating a short sale with their lender allows the seller to remain in the home.
We recommend working with a professional Branson Realtor. They can help explain the short sale process in greater detail.