Are Lenders More Agreeable to a Short Sale if the Owners Stop Paying the Mortgage?

Short sale sellers always ask if they should stop paying the mortgage.

I never answer that question because I can't give legal advice. I suppose the sellers' rationale is the lender will be more agreeable to accepting a short sale if the sellers stop making their mortgage payments and the mortgage goes into default. Sometimes that is the case and sometimes it's not, but the thing is there's not a surefire way to find out without stopping the mortgage payments.

It's not always smart to stop paying on the mortgage. There are advantages to keeping your mortgage payments current. One advantage is on a short sale, if the owners are current, they can immediately apply for a loan to buy another house. There are also advantages to not making the payments . . . read more about Stop Paying the Mortgage.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub:

• Buying After Selling a Short Sale
  
• Qualifying for a Short Sale
  
• Short Sale Taxation

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