{"id":19003,"date":"2025-02-21T02:00:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=19003"},"modified":"2025-02-21T21:12:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T05:12:41","slug":"buyer-short-sale-closing-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-short-sale-closing-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Short Sale Closing Costs: What Buyers Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people, at some point in their lives, know the meaning of hard financial times. For a homeowner, that might look like not being able to make mortgage payments for a period of time. Unexpected setbacks and misfortunes happen, whether that stems from a dramatic housing market downturn<\/a>, getting laid off, or any other wrenches that life (or the economy) throws into your plans.<\/p>\n

No homeowner wants to go through a foreclosure. If a homeowner falls behind on their mortgage payments, a short sale<\/a> is one potential way of correcting course. It\u2019s certainly not an ideal situation, but it can have fewer repercussions for the homeowner-turned-seller<\/a>, and from a buyer\u2019s perspective, it can be a great deal if you\u2019re willing to wait for it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That being said, the home purchase process is a lot more complicated and drawn out with a short sale because it all hinges on the oversight and approval of a third party: the mortgage lender. Short sales operate according to the lender\u2019s approval, requirements, and timeline. These properties are typically sold as-is<\/a>, without the option to negotiate repairs, and as the buyer, you\u2019re unlikely to get the seller and their lender to agree to cover your closing costs.<\/p>\n

Whether the lender agrees to pay some, all, or none of the closing costs depends on their bottom line and what you are bringing to the table as the buyer. If you\u2019re interested in a short sale opportunity, get a better idea of what you\u2019re in for and what closing costs you can get covered.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Find a top real estate agent near you<\/h3>\n

We analyze over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to determine which agent is best for you based on your needs. It takes just two minutes to match you with the best real estate agents, who will contact you and guide you through the process.<\/p>\n \n

\n Get Started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/div><\/p>\n

Short sales 101: How does it work?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics: What even is a short sale?<\/p>\n

A short sale happens when a homeowner owes more on a house than the house is currently worth \u2026 but they still need to sell the house. So in a short sale, the homeowner\u2019s mortgage lender agrees to settle the mortgage loan for less than what the seller still owes on the house.<\/p>\n

Sellers could owe more on the house than the home is worth due to decreases in home values<\/a>, overextending the home\u2019s equity<\/a>, or other financial or economic hardships<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To be more specific, a homeowner could owe more at the time of sale than what the house is actually worth because there was a drop in housing market prices, or because the owner purchased at a high point in the housing market with an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM)<\/a>, which raised the mortgage loan interest to an unaffordable amount.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The benefits of a short sale (for buyers)<\/h3>\n

There are some solid advantages to buying a short sale home, depending on your situation. For one, the buyer usually pays the true fair-market value<\/a> of the home at that time and not an inflated price (which may have led to the short sale in the first place). Furthermore, the price could be listed below market value in an effort to attract offers, presenting a potentially great deal for buyers.<\/p>\n

Other short sale benefits for buyers might include:<\/p>\n