Need a Short Sale? Start Here.
Whether your property is in California or somewhere else in the country, the first step is understanding your options and putting the right people around the transaction.
Facing a Short Sale? You Do Not Have to Figure It Out Alone.
If you owe more than your home may sell for, have fallen behind on payments, are facing foreclosure, or simply need to understand whether a short sale makes sense, Short Sale Deal Maker can help you understand the process and determine the right path forward. For homeowners in California, our affiliated California real-estate team can provide direct short-sale representation. For homeowners elsewhere in the United States, Short Sale Deal Maker can work with your local listing agent, help support the short-sale process, or help you identify an agent with the experience and resources needed for the transaction.
Three ways forward
Which Path Fits You?
California Homeowner
Need direct representation? Our California team may represent you through SacramentoShortSale.com.
Outside CA + Have an Agent
Keep your agent. We can work alongside them and provide short-sale support.
Outside CA + No Agent
Need help finding one? We can help you identify the right local professional.
Wherever the property is located, the goal is the same: build the right team around the homeowner.
California homeowners
Selling a Home in California?
If the property is located in California and the representation is appropriate for the situation, our California-licensed real-estate team can represent the homeowner directly in the short-sale transaction. Our team is based in the Sacramento region, but our California short-sale representation is not limited to Sacramento County. We can assist homeowners throughout California, including Southern California, the Central Coast, the Bay Area, the Central Valley, Northern California, and other communities throughout the state.
Sacramento, Roseville, Redding, Red Bluff, San Francisco, San Jose, Monterey, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, and San Diego are examples of communities we may serve. For a fuller picture of what direct representation includes, see the California short sale representation page and the short-sale process guide.
California Representation Through SacramentoShortSale.com
SacramentoShortSale.com is the California consumer-facing short-sale real-estate platform operated by the same real estate team behind Short Sale Deal Maker. While the names and websites serve different purposes, they are connected through the same real estate professionals and short-sale experience. For California homeowners seeking direct representation, visit SacramentoShortSale.com.
Two Platforms. One Experienced Short Sale Team.
Short Sale Deal Maker and Sacramento Short Sale serve different purposes. Short Sale Deal Maker is the broader short-sale education, agent-support, and transaction platform. Sacramento Short Sale is the California-facing real-estate platform for homeowners seeking direct short-sale representation. The same team works behind both platforms, allowing homeowners, agents, and other parties to access the appropriate level of support for their situation. Two specialized platforms serving different parts of the short-sale process.
If the property is in California, you can start directly with our California short-sale team.
Talk With the California Short Sale TeamCalifornia real-estate representation through The Gary Lee Team at eXp Realty of Northern California, Inc. See DRE details.
The Team Behind the Platform
The Gary Lee Team has worked with distressed-property owners, short sales, and REO transactions for years. Short Sale Deal Maker brings that experience into one system for homeowners and agents.
Homeowners outside California
Outside California? We Can Still Help.
If the property is outside California, Short Sale Deal Maker does not need to become the seller's listing brokerage in order to help move the transaction forward. We can work with the homeowner and the homeowner's properly licensed local real estate professional to help everyone understand the short-sale process, lender requirements, documentation, timelines, valuation issues, buyer expectations, and transaction strategy.
The model in one line
National support, not national brokerage.
See how the team works alongside a listing agent on the How It Works page, and what lenders expect by reviewing the lender and servicer hub or the short-sale process guide.
Depending on the circumstances, Short Sale Deal Maker may:
- Help a homeowner understand the short-sale process
- Work alongside the homeowner's listing agent
- Help an inexperienced agent understand how to handle a short sale
- Provide transaction education and coordination
- Help identify common short-sale problems before they become larger problems
- Help the seller locate an appropriate local agent if the seller does not already have one
Buyers and buyer agents working with a short sale can also start with the buyer education guide, and homeowners can review the homeowner resource page at their own pace.
Working with an existing agent
Already Have an Agent? That's Fine.
You do not necessarily need to change agents simply because your agent has never handled a short sale before. If you already have a trusted listing agent, Short Sale Deal Maker may be able to work alongside that agent and help provide the short-sale knowledge, process guidance, and transaction support needed to navigate the file. That may be especially useful when the homeowner wants to work with a longtime agent, a family friend, a trusted local REALTOR, an agent who knows the property and neighborhood well, or an experienced traditional listing agent who simply has limited short-sale experience.
Keep the relationship
A good agent does not have to already know everything about short sales if they are willing to learn and work with the right support.
Short Sale Experience Still Matters
A short sale is not a normal listing with an extra form attached. It may involve lender approval, investor rules, valuation disputes, multiple liens, hardship documentation, foreclosure deadlines, buyer patience, title issues, junior lien negotiations, relocation assistance, lender-required documentation, and changing approval conditions. An experienced short-sale professional may recognize problems earlier and know what questions need to be asked. If a homeowner does not already have an agent, Short Sale Deal Maker can help the homeowner think through what qualities to look for in a local listing agent.
Start with the short sale vs. foreclosure comparison, the foreclosure timing guide, and the junior liens and HELOCs guide to see the kinds of issues that separate a short sale from an ordinary listing. Common questions are answered on the short sale FAQs page.
What experience changes
Why Experienced Short-Sale Support Matters
Without Short-Sale Support
- Missed deadlines and stalled files
- Incomplete documentation
- Lender questions left unresolved
- Offers that struggle to move through approval
With Experienced Short-Sale Support
- Documentation organized correctly
- Lender and investor requirements understood
- Problems identified earlier
- Clearer path toward approval and closing
The right professional recognizes problems earlier and knows what questions to ask.
Starting fresh
Don't Have a Listing Agent Yet?
If you are outside California and do not already have a real estate agent, choosing the right local professional can make a major difference. Short Sale Deal Maker can help you understand what questions to ask before hiring an agent for a distressed-property transaction. Depending on the situation, we may also be able to help identify a properly licensed real estate professional in your area.
Start with the homeowner resource page to understand the process, then use the short sale FAQs to check the questions homeowners ask most before choosing representation.
Help Me Find the Right Short Sale AgentQuestions to ask any agent
Ask how many short sales the agent has actually taken through approval, how they handle hardship documentation, how they prepare for the lender's valuation, and how they respond to a foreclosure deadline. If the answers are vague or incomplete, ask what short-sale support the agent will have available before you hire them.
If time is short
Have a Foreclosure Sale Date?
Tell us immediately. Short sale options can become more difficult as a foreclosure date approaches, and lender timelines vary. If a foreclosure sale has already been scheduled, include the date when contacting the team so the file can be evaluated against that timeline. We cannot promise that a sale can be stopped, postponed, or approved, but understanding the timing early matters.
Include the sale date and the county where the property is located.
Get help · No obligation
Tell Us About Your Situation.
The more the team knows about the property and where the file stands, the more specific the first reply can be. Everything you share is handled according to our Privacy Policy.
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The path forward
What Happens After You Contact Us?
Understand the Situation
We review the property location, loan situation, foreclosure status, existing representation, and the homeowner's goals.
Determine the Right Representation Path
In California, direct representation may be available through the affiliated real estate team. Outside California, it means determining whether the homeowner already has an agent or needs help finding one.
Build the Short Sale Team
Listing agent, homeowner, short-sale support professionals, lenders, buyer, escrow and title professionals, and other parties each have different responsibilities.
Begin the Short Sale Process
The property is positioned for sale, lender requirements are identified, required documentation is assembled, and the transaction moves through the appropriate approval process.
Who is involved
A Short Sale Is a Team Effort
Homeowner
Makes the key decisions throughout the sale
Listing Agent
Representing the homeowner and positioning the property
Lender & Servicer
Approving the payoff and terms
Short-Sale Support
Documentation, strategy and coordination
Buyer & Buyer's Agent
The offer and the transaction
Escrow & Title
Closing it cleanly
Everyone has a role. Experience keeps them coordinated.
Know the difference
Short Sale or Foreclosure: What's the Difference?
A short sale and a foreclosure are very different ways for a distressed property to change hands. The homeowner's role, the timeline, and the outcome each differ.
Short Sale
- More control over the sale process
- Credit impact may differ from foreclosure
- Any remaining mortgage debt must be addressed
Foreclosure
- Property moves to a trustee or auction sale
- Less control over the outcome
- Credit consequences may differ
- The timeline is driven by the lender
Outcomes vary by situation. Credit and debt results differ by borrower and loan history. Consult licensed professionals.
Dig deeper with the short sale vs. foreclosure guide and the short-sale process walkthrough.
Licensing and compliance
Real estate representation is provided only where permitted by applicable licensing laws. California real estate services are provided through appropriately licensed California real estate professionals affiliated with eXp Realty of Northern California, Inc. Outside California, Short Sale Deal Maker may provide education, coordination, agent support, and referral assistance, and may work with appropriately licensed local real estate professionals. Short Sale Deal Maker does not represent that its California licensees are licensed to provide brokerage services in every state. Read the detailed disclosures.
THE FIRST STEP IS A CONVERSATION.
Short Sale Deal Maker is not only for professionals. Homeowners can start here too. Tell us where your situation stands, and we will help you understand the path forward.
Need to talk now? Call or text 916-595-4279.