I was in conversation with a troubled homeowner, who very categorically told me that it was better for people to foreclose than try to short sell their home. Apparently, an article in the San Francisco chronicle, written in Nov last year made this person assume that a foreclosure was a quicker and less painful route as opposed to a short sale.

Sellers are confused on the direction they should take and there are many predatory businesses still functioning who will tap into a sellers pain. Shame on these people, because they portray to be trying to help home owners but they are actually exploiting the seller's plight, to make financial gains for themselves.

The most important thing before considering a short sale or foreclosure, sellers need to talk to their attorneys. Anyone in that situation should first take legal counsel before making a decision.As a Realtor, I can guide a seller through the steps of the short sale process, but your attorney or CPA wil tell you if you will have any tax implications.

Short sales maybe perceived as painful experiences, and sometimes undoubtedly they are- yet they sell.Here are some stats of sold short pay transfers, REO's and regular resales for the month of Dec 2008:

Original Price	LP	SP	SqFt	YrBlt	Lot SqFt	List $/SqFt	Sale $/SqFt	Address	Dist/Neighborhood/Subdiv
$739,000.00	$714,900.00	$693,000.00	2405	2003	3903	297	288	2919  LANGHORNE DR	WINDEMERE
$950,000.00	$799,000.00	$725,000.00	2953	2005	5746	271	246	2830  VERNON WAY	WINDEMERE

In December 2008, the Sold REO' were:

Original Price	LP	SP	List $/SqFt	Sale $/SqFt	BT	SqFt	Lot SqFt	Address	Dist/Neighborhood/Subdiv
$469,000.00	$469,000.00	$483,000.00	292	301	TH	1605	0	1413  ARIANNA LN	WINDEMERE
$614,900.00	$589,900.00	$589,900.00	358	358	DE	1646	2986	2259  S DONOVAN WAY	WINDEMERE
$744,900.00	$709,900.00	$690,000.00	318	309	DE	2232	5049	1512  BANBURY DR	WINDEMERE
$475,000.00	$475,000.00	$511,000.00	202	218	TH	2346	0	2237  WATERMILL RD	WINDEMERE
$707,900.00	$696,900.00	$707,900.00	286	291	DE	2434	4525	1858  WYCLIFFE LN	WINDEMERE
$724,900.00	$700,001.00	$701,000.00	270	270	DE	2597	4993	2570  HARLOW LN	WINDEMERE
$740,000.00	$740,000.00	$740,000.00	273	273	DE	2715	5206	2633  MELBOURNE WAY	WINDEMERE
$899,900.00	$899,900.00	$846,500.00	259	243	DE	3479	7630	3050  HASTINGS WAY	WINDEMERE

In December 2008, regular sales posted in the MLS were( does not include all new home sales)

Original Price	LP	SP	List $/SqFt	Sale $/SqFt	SqFt	Lot SqFt	Address	Dist/Neighborhood/Subdiv
$614,900.00	$589,900.00	$589,900.00	358	358	1646	2986	2259  S DONOVAN WAY	WINDEMERE
$690,000.00	$690,000.00	$650,000.00	353	333	1952	4118	1219  Halifax Way	WINDEMERE
$700,000.00	$700,000.00	$651,979.00	374	348	1872	4219	1211  Halifax Way	WINDEMERE
$795,000.00	$795,000.00	$795,000.00	286	286	2779	5178	1243  ANDREAS WAY	WINDEMERE
$839,000.00	$839,000.00	$800,802.00	310	296	2703	4005	3019  Paddington Way	WINDEMERE
$960,000.00	$960,000.00	$961,386.00	256	256	3752	6000	609  Kyler Court	WINDEMERE
$980,000.00	$980,000.00	$950,000.00	246	238	3984	6600	600  Kyler Court	WINDEMERE
$1,039,000.00	$999,000.00	$950,000.00	262	249	3810	8643	3062  HASTINGS WAY	WINDEMERE
$1,050,000.00	$1,050,000.00	$1,000,618.00	264	251	3984	10009	632  Kyler Ct.	WINDEMERE

Currently active short sales are:

LP	SqFt	List $/SqFt	Address	Dist/Neighborhood/Subdiv
$479,000.00	1892	253	1311  Nancy Lane	WINDEMERE
$495,000.00	1892	262	911  Joree Lane	WINDEMERE
$558,000.00	2141	261	6378  BYRON LN	WINDEMERE
$720,000.00	2507	287	3685  Sandalford Way	WINDEMERE
$749,000.00	2715	276	2838  VERNON WAY	WINDEMERE
$765,000.00	2569	298	2566  HARLOW LN	WINDEMERE
$769,000.00	3173	242	3009  Silva Wy	WINDEMERE
$770,000.00	3223	239	1619  ANGSLEY LN	WINDEMERE
$779,000.00	2827	276	1468  Allanmere Drive	WINDEMERE
$799,000.00	3223	248	3351  MIDDLEBROOKE WAY	WINDEMERE
$799,000.00	3269	244	638  KARINA CT	WINDEMERE
$871,000.00	3716	234	3095  HASTINGS WAY	WINDEMERE
$875,000.00	3472	252	600  Dromana ct	WINDEMERE
$879,000.00	3707	237	2580  TAMWORTH LN	WINDEMERE
$879,000.00	3479	253	3059  HASTINGS WAY	WINDEMERE
$899,000.00	3474	259	3068  HASTINGS WAY	WINDEMERE
$929,000.00	3473	267	2500  CRANEFORD WAY	WINDEMERE
$949,000.00	3824	248	2592  TAMWORTH LN	WINDEMERE

Out of 40 homes currently on the resale market, 18 are short sales and 3 bank owned. There is no running away from the short sales and if you can make decent offers, you might land up getting great prices for homes on short sales. Compare them with the sold foreclosures or even regular sales, where almost all sold for full list price or over asking price.

If you are a seller in financial trouble, please take the needful steps to ensure that you can recover from this situation to resurrect your future.