Is a short sale right for me?
Program goal
The goal of a short sale is to help you avoid foreclosure if you are no longer able to remain in your home. In the short sale process, you sell your home and settle your mortgage debt for less than the amount that you owe.
Eligibility
You may be eligible to sell your home in a short sale, if:
you have a hardship, such as a job loss, divorce or medical emergency
you owe more than your house is worth
you are unable to afford your current monthly mortgage payment
you are unable to modify your current home loan
A short sale generally takes less time to complete than a foreclosure, so your reported delinquency could be shorter than it would with a foreclosure. As a result, your credit will likely improve faster than it would if your house goes to foreclosure.
While we work with you to complete a short sale, we will continue to report the status of your account to the major credit reporting agencies. If a short sale is completed on your property, we will report that your loan was "paid in full for less than the full balance."
You should only consider a short sale after you have explored all other options, including modifying your loan. Please visit our Loan Assistance Solutions page for a complete list of options you may want to consider.
Because a short sale would allow you to sell your home for less than the loan, you would not receive any money back at the time of the closing.
Program at a glance
Step 1: Call us and we will work with you to explore any options that may be available to help you stay in your home. The sooner you work with us, the more options you may have available.
Step 2: After all other options have been exhausted and you have decided a short sale is right for you, we recommend working with a licensed real estate agent who can assist you in listing your home for sale.
Step 3: Once you receive an offer, we will begin working to gain approval of your first mortgage short sale request from all necessary parties. It is important to note that if you have a second mortgage with another lender, or any other outstanding debts against the property, it is your responsibility to get approval from those parties.
Step 4: We will determine the fair market value of your home by ordering a valuation and reviewing the prices of recently sold homes comparable to yours in your local market. Based on our findings, we may present you with a counter offer if the original offer is not in alignment with the fair market value of your home.
Step 5: If all parties agree to the terms of the offer (buyer, seller, and any other debt holders), your short sale offer will be approved. Remember, a short sale approval may take longer than getting a traditional mortgage approved. Once your loan has closed, the proceeds are paid according to the terms of the agreement.
Search for a real estate professional to help you with your short sale.
Get more details on the steps of a short sale.
How do I get started with a short sale?
Receive an offer
After you have marketed your home and received an offer, call us to let us know you are interested in a short sale.
To move forward with a short sale, you will need to:
send us a copy of the offer letter
tell us about your financial hardship
We recommend you contact a local, licensed real estate agent to assist you. A real estate agent will help you navigate the short sale process and will work with us on your behalf.
Let us help you
Call us today at:
1.866.880.1232
8am-10pm ET Mon-Fri
9am-5:30pm ET Sat
Call Information Sheet Opens a New Window.
Prior to calling, please print out this form and have your information ready.
Now that I am in the process, what is next?
If you are already in the process of selling your home in a short sale, we can help you understand what you need to do next.
I have an offer and have called for more details on a traditional short sale.
When you call us, have your loan information readily available and be prepared to discuss your financial hardship in detail. The first thing we will look at is whether there are any options that may allow you to stay in your home. If you decide that a short sale is the right option for you, you can begin marketing your house.
Please note that the traditional short sale process is only for borrowers who do not have prior approval from us to pursue a short sale through the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program and already have an offer on their house.
What information should I have on hand when I call?
loan and property information
information on any foreclosure notices or dates you have received
details of the offer
information on any home equity or line of credit on the property, if applicable
information on a loan modification, if you were considered for one
There are thousands of non-profit groups and government agencies across the country ready to assist you with everything from finding rental housing or employment assistance, to saving money and more. Because these organizations are focused on the unique needs of your community, the resources you find are better able to help with your circumstances and challenges.
I have decided to go forward with a short sale.
We strongly recommend working with a licensed real estate agent who has experience with short sales. They can guide you through the process, and you will not have to pay the cost of the agent since they will be paid from the sale of the house.
There are thousands of non-profit groups and government agencies across the country ready to assist you with everything from finding rental housing or employment assistance, to saving money and more. Because these organizations are focused on the unique needs of your community, the resources you find are better able to help with your circumstances and challenges.
I have received an offer on my house.
Your agent will submit the offer to us. At that point, we will work to gain approval of your offer. If your second mortgage is with Bank of America, we will complete your Second Lien Release form. If you have a second mortgage with another lender or any other debts against the house, it is your responsibility to contact the other lender and request a Second Lien Release form. The lender needs to provide this form, sign it to indicate that they approve of the offer, and send it to you before any offer can be considered.
Once your offer is submitted, we will check your eligibility for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program. If you appear to be eligible, we will mail you information on how to participate in that federal government-sponsored program. Benefits of this program include $3,000-30,000en_disclamer_3to3K in relocation incentives and the waiving of any deficiency claims, which will release you from any further responsibility for the outstanding mortgage balance.
There are thousands of non-profit groups and government agencies across the country ready to assist you with everything from finding rental housing or employment assistance, to saving money and more. Because these organizations are focused on the unique needs of your community, the resources you find are better able to help with your circumstances and challenges.
My offer is being reviewed and I am waiting for a decision.
Once your agent has submitted the offer to us, we will reach a decision and get back to you in approximately 40 calendar days. During this time, we will need to determine the fair market value of your house. A professional appraiser will visit your house, as well as consider the sale price of other houses of similar size in your neighborhood, to determine an acceptable price for your house. You will not have to pay the cost of the appraiser since he or she will be paid from the sale of the house.
Once the fair market value of your house is determined, we may make a counteroffer. It is not unusual for offers to be withdrawn all the way up until the closing, so during this time, we encourage you to continue marketing your house.
Even if you are pursuing a short sale with us, in most cases there is a third party that has ownership of the loan. We will need their approval in order to finalize the short sale. We will work with the third party on your behalf until they have reached a decision.
There are thousands of non-profit groups and government agencies across the country ready to assist you with everything from finding rental housing or employment assistance, to saving money and more. Because these organizations are focused on the unique needs of your community, the resources you find are better able to help with your circumstances and challenges.
My offer has been approved.
Once all necessary parties have accepted the offer, we will provide you with an approval letter releasing the house for purchase. With everything in order, final documents will be prepared and your agent will help you set a closing date.
After the closing, your house is now sold. Your mortgage and any other loans against the house are paid off from the proceeds of the sale.
If the funds from your traditional short sale do not cover the amount owed on your loan, you may be responsible for paying the difference (also known as the deficiency), depending on the owner of the loan.
If we are unable to get approvals from all the necessary parties, other short sale options or a deed in lieu of foreclosure may be available to you. A deed in lieu allows you to voluntarily transfer ownership of your property to your lender in order to satisfy the total amount due on your first mortgage. A deed in lieu of foreclosure generally takes less time to complete than a foreclosure, so your reported delinquency could be shorter than it would with a foreclosure. As a result, your credit will likely improve faster than it would if your house goes to foreclosure.
There are thousands of non-profit groups and government agencies across the country ready to assist you with everything from finding rental housing or employment assistance, to saving money and more. Because these organizations are focused on the unique needs of your community, the resources you find are better able to help with your circumstances and challenges.
Home Loan Assistance Frequently Asked Questions
The short answer is “yes.” But before you consider a short sale, there are many other options to explore, such as refinancing or modifying your home loan payments that could allow you to stay in your home with more affordable mortgage payments. Call one of our short sale specialists to help determine other options for which you may qualify. They will work with you to help determine your best course of action.
Yes. Depending on your circumstances, it is possible to do a short sale all the way up until the day of foreclosure.
Because of the number of people and amount of paperwork involved in a short sale, it can take longer than a traditional home sale. Typically it takes 45 to 90 calendar days after the initial offer is accepted to finalize, although timelines can vary based upon current market conditions and your particular circumstances.
No. Because Bank of America and other parties are receiving less than the total amount owed to pay off your property, all the proceeds of the sale go to satisfying that debt.
There are thousands of non-profit groups and government agencies across the country ready to assist you with everything from finding rental housing or employment assistance, to saving money and more. Because these organizations are focused on the unique needs of your community, the resources you find are better able to help with your circumstances and challenges.
You may search a list of real estate agents in your area to find one who has successfully completed short sales with us in the past, or you may decide to hire another agent.
A loan can be transferred to a different servicer while in the process of a short sale. You may hear this referred to as a service release. A loan servicer sends your loan statements, collects your monthly payments (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) and handles other aspects of your loan. You will be notified at least 15 calendar days in advance if your loan is going to be transferred. Your new servicer will be aware of your short sale status and should have received all of your documents from us. You should continue to work with the new servicer to complete the process you have started or to determine which programs may be most helpful in your current situation.
If you were denied home loan assistance, such as a request for a loan modification, short sale or deed in lieu you may be able to dispute the decision. You can file an escalated case with us if you have reason to believe any of the following are true:
- you met all the criteria for home loan assistance but were not properly evaluated for assistance or were improperly denied assistance. This may include:
- you did not receive adequate notice from us about your foreclosure alternatives
- you were not given appropriate time to respond to communications from us during your loan review process
- your loan was referred to foreclosure prematurely, or we did not suspend foreclosure activities when we were required to do so
You can also file an escalated case if either of these two specific concerns apply to your loan:
- you have a reasonable belief that your mortgage loan is being serviced in a fraudulent manner
- you have retained a lawyer to help you resolve a mortgage dispute with Bank of America
If you have reason to believe that any of the above apply in connection with your loan review and affected your eligibility for home loan assistance, you may file an escalated case with us to review your concerns.
Please note that inquiries about a pending request for home loan assistance or general questions about the servicing of your mortgage do not meet the requirements for an escalated case. For general servicing questions, please call 1.800.669.6607 (Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm local time).
To file an escalated case, you or any third party representing you, such as a housing counselor or attorney, should send us a brief letter describing the specific reasons you believe one of the above scenarios applies to your loan or to your application for home loan assistance. If you are represented by an attorney, please have your lawyer submit this request on your behalf.
Escalated case requests must be sent by mail to the following address:
- Bank of America Corporate Center
Attn: BAC Escalated Case Unit
P.O. Box 940508
Simi Valley, CA 93094-0508
Please note that if a third party, such as an advisor or a nonprofit advocate, contacts us to submit an escalated case on your behalf, we must have your written authorization before we can communicate with them about you or your loan. Without your written authorization, we will not be able to discuss your home loan with them. We can provide you with an authorization form upon request.
What to expect after submitting your request
Within three business days after receipt:
- If your submission meets the requirements for an escalated case, within three business days of the receipt of your request, we will send you a written acknowledgement that we have received your request. This acknowledgement will also include the estimated date by which your escalated case should be resolved, along with a toll-free number for the Escalated Case Unit.
Within 15 calendar days after receipt:
- In most cases, within 15 calendar days of receiving your request, we will mail you a written response describing the proposed resolution of your request and any next steps to be followed by you or by us. If your matter cannot be resolved within 15 calendar days, we will notify you of the delay and give you a new estimated resolution date. This new estimated resolution date, in most cases, will be no longer than 30 calendar days from the date we received your original escalated case.
Checking the status of your escalated case
Your written confirmation will include a toll-free number you can call for information about your escalated case.
