In months of house hunting, Carrie Hennessy saw places she liked and places she could afford, but none that checked off both boxes. Then she found a 30-year-old, three-bedroom colonial in Ramsey, N.J., on the market for less than $400,000, in a neighborhood where similar homes had sold for more than $500,000 during the housing boom.
Although the house was a good deal, it was also a short sale, that is, selling for less than the homeowner owes on the mortgage. These sales are often more complicated than other sales, because the seller’s lender has to accept a loss. And Hennessy’s deal hit a few bumps.