A short sale is commonly accepted by a bank when people are about to foreclose on their home. This is when the borrower is trying to sell their home and they are having difficulty getting any hits on it. The bank will allow a short sale which gives you the ability to lower the house a little in price. Announcing the short sale tells potential buyers that the bank is willing to negotiate lower offers to purchase the home. The lower offers can be as low as 40% in some cases.

You can benefit from a short sale because you will not have a default of a home on your credit. Foreclosures are the worst thing that people can have on their credit. It can be up to 10 years before you have the ability to purchase another home and it could be devastating to you financially. Many employers also frown upon people having foreclosures and they won't even hire them. A short sale appears as a sale of the home at a lower rate, you claim the difference as income when you file next year's tax return, and you are good to go.

The bank benefits from a short sale because they never want to own homes that have foreclosed. This is the last thing that they want because all they want is the money. They don't have the time to maintain the home nor do they have the finances to fund advertising and other things to sell it. They want money and they know if the home is going through foreclosing then they need to take what they can get.

Bank foreclosure houses can be sold as a short sale when you are trying to sell your home. Talk to your lender and ask them if they are willing to accept a short sale of the home so you can change the posting for the home. This will increase the chances of selling the home and help you save your credit.