Shannon Behnken, Tampa Tribune

TAMPA – With so many distressed homeowners owing more than their homes are worth, short sales have become lifelines.

These types of sales make up more than half of the homes on the market in the Tampa Bay area. Generally, this means the mortgage lender has agreed to allow the home to sell for market value. The lender writes off the rest of the debt, and the homeowner walks away.

But is it really this simple?

Lenders are increasingly adding language to the approval package, reserving the right to pursue the deficiency later – that is, the difference between what you owed on the house and what it sold for.

Some homeowners, so anxious to get out of a pending foreclosure, skip right over that part of the letter. Some understand but opt to take their chances, betting they won’t hear from the lender again.

For some lucky buyers, this has been the case – so far. They’ve sold their home as a short sale, moved on, and haven’t had any problems. But other lenders require the seller to agree upfront to pay back a set amount.

‘It seems fair’

Realtor Paul De La Torre, of Keller Williams, said lenders almost always ask his clients to agree to pay at least some of the debt back. Lenders’ requests, he said, range from 15 percent of the balance to agreeing to a payment plan – such as $80 a month for 15 years.

Read more here:  http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/feb/21/bz-read-the-fine-print-in-a-short-sale/