Did you know that there can be a pretty big negative about doing a short sale?  A short sale is done when the owner of a home is behind in payments, owes the lender more than the house is worth and has a severe financial handicap.  If the lender agrees to a short sale, the lender accepts less than what is owed on the house.  Here's the problem - the difference between what is owed and what the lender gets is considered to be taxable by the IRS.  The debt relief, they say, is the same as income.  Learn more about the short sale.