 TITLE: What Is a Short Sale? CONTENT: Short Sale vs. Foreclosure\n--------------------------\nWhile both a short sale and a foreclosure will free you of a mortgage you can no longer afford—and come with consequences for doing so—they differ in several fundamental ways. To start, they differ in who initiates the process: Short sales are initiated by the homeowner to get out of a mortgage and avoid foreclosure. This typically occurs when they've missed payments and owe more than the home is worth.\nForeclosure, on the other hand, is a legal process initiated by the lender when the borrower has defaulted on their mortgage loan. Regardless of how much the home is worth, lenders foreclose on homes to recoup the amount owed by taking control of the property and selling it.\nIf you're in a situation where you're weighing a short sale vs. a foreclosure, it's important to understand both the benefits and drawbacks of each. END