Albuquerque Real Estate - Housing Market Statistics - MLS Search

Ever read a house listing and feel a little uncertain about the meanings of terms such as short sale, pre-foreclosure, or foreclosure? Well, hopefully this post will clear up that uncertainty!

A short sale of a residential property is still owned by the owner, but the owner is usually behind in their payments and the price listed is short of what is needed to pay off the mortgage and closing costs. There is no guarantee that the bank will accept a short sale even if the owner offers the full list price, and the response time from a bank on an offer can take up to six months.

A house is in pre-foreclosure when the lender, in the process of suing the owner in court, has had a summons issued and filed with the court. This pre-foreclosure period between filing and judgment can take 2-3 months. Once the judgment is issued, the house officially goes into foreclosure and can be placed for auction on the county steps with a minimum of 30 days notice.

Essentially, the process can be simplified in this order:

1) Owner is behind in payments.
2) Mortgage company files in court—they are now in pre-foreclosure.
3) Judgment is issued—they are now foreclosed.

Finally, consider these possibilities: a house could be both in pre-foreclosure and listed as a short sale; but, a short sale is not always in pre-foreclosure; and a pre-foreclosure is not always a short sale!