Last month, the Obama administration, through the Making Home Affordable program, offered lenders and loan providers an incentive of up to $1,000 for each completed short sale, and up to $1,000 more to share the cost of paying any second-mortgage lenders to release their claim on the property. Homeowners too were offered up to $1,500 for relocation expenses.

The incentives offered by the government, coupled with lenders wanting to reduce bad loans, are likely to increase the number of short sale transactions in the near-future. “Without a doubt, lenders are more willing to work through short sales,” said Andre L. Mitchell, the executive vice president of the Lynx Mortgage Bank. “In this marketplace if the lenders can negotiate in any way to get rid of a bad loan, they’re going to do it.” Banks may lose less money in short sales than in foreclosures, where banks may carry the house for a considerable period of time before selling it.

Analysts believe short sales are often the  best option, even for homeowners thinking about a new loan to save the home. “It’s gotten to the point where people understand that sometimes you have to start over,” says Mitchell. “A loan modification might help you in the short term, but sometimes what people need to do is get out completely.”

[courtesy of Chris McLaughlin]