I was struck by a sign that I saw that said, "If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, Call me for information on how to short sell it!" I thought about this and wondered if some agents are using our current economic crisis as an excuse to prey on struggling homeowners. A short sale should not be taken lightly.

In previous markets, a small number of people would have life changing circumstances such as medical disability, Loss of Job or Bankruptcy where they simply could not meet their mortgage obligations. In our current economy, a short sale has almost been a buzz word for getting out of your predicament and getting to walk away. Don't misunderstand me. There are plenty of people that were duped into believeing that what they were doing was the right thing. There are also plently of investors and people who knew that they couldn't afford the home they were buying who had a "what the heck" attitude.

The challenge is that it is difficult, if not impossible to separate these two groups. Agents have to make a decision if they want to take on the short sale customer. It involves hours and hours of paperwork, phone calls and frustrating dead ends. I have to laugh at all of the "Short Sale Specialists" that have popped up within the last year. Could we see some credentials please? Does 1 short sale under your belt make you a specialist?

Short sales have always been around and will continue to be. It is the sheer volume of them that we are seeing now that have made bank representatives increase their valium prescriptions.