what is a short sale 
in real estate a short sale may take place when an owner sells a house at a price that is less than the outstanding mortgage amount this typically happens when the owner is under financial stress and is behind on mortgage payments the owner is obligated to sell the home to a third party with all of the proceeds of the sale going to the lender the lender must approve the short sale before it happens the process can take as long as a year due to the paperwork involved 