A clear path through
a complex sale.

1. Start with your goal and deadline

Do you want to keep the home, or is moving necessary? Note any written notices and scheduled dates. Speak with your mortgage servicer early. A HUD-approved housing counselor can help you understand available assistance.

2. Assess value, liens and alternatives

A sale may not need short sale approval if available proceeds cover the amounts required to close. Review a current valuation, estimated costs and all liens with qualified professionals. Compare a traditional sale, retention options and other resolutions before committing.

3. Ask your servicer what it requires

Requirements vary. A servicer may request hardship information, financial documentation, a purchase offer and other materials through its secure process. Keep a dated log of requests, submissions and responses. Do not send sensitive documents through this website.

4. Market the home and evaluate an offer

Work with an appropriately licensed real estate professional. An accepted buyer offer does not itself equal lender approval. Approval may involve multiple lienholders, valuation review and negotiation.

5. Review written approval before closing

Confirm price, approved costs, deadlines and how each debt will be treated. Have an attorney review unresolved liability questions, and a tax professional review potential cancellation-of-debt consequences. Do not assume approval of a sale answers every question.

6. Close only when conditions are satisfied

Your transaction team should coordinate the written approvals, escrow requirements and closing dates. Retain the final approval letters, settlement records and relevant tax forms.

How long does a short sale take?

There is no single timeline that applies to every California short sale. Marketing the property, assembling the requested documents, obtaining lender responses and satisfying closing conditions are separate stages. Ask for a file-specific estimate and what could change it, rather than treating a general number of days as a promise.

• Before an offer: clarify the marketing plan, required documents and any servicer instructions.
• During lender review: track what has been received, what is missing and who owns the next response. Ask whether valuation review or another lienholder’s decision remains outstanding.
• After written approval: compare approval expiration dates with buyer financing, escrow and closing requirements. A requested extension is not an approved extension.

Keep foreclosure dates on a separate list and confirm their status directly with the servicer and qualified counsel. A short sale estimate does not establish how much time you have before foreclosure. Discuss your San Diego selling options or review the approval and deadline checklist.