Quick answer (as of November 2026) My first Columbia short sale took about four months from the seller's first call to closing. He'd moved out of state for work, he was months behind on an FHA loan, and the house had sat unsold with another agent. The house went live 9 days after he called, the lender approved the short sale 63 days after that, the sale closed 55 days after approval, and he brought nothing to the closing table.
You moved for work. The house back in Tennessee didn't sell, the payment keeps leaving an account that can't cover it, and the envelopes from your servicer keep getting thicker.
That's where my first Columbia short sale seller was when he called me in January 2026. Below is the whole file: what put him in the hole, what we weighed, every step I took, how long each stretch ran and how it ended. His name and the dollar figures stay off this page, but every step and day count is here.
I've been selling real estate since 2013, with more than 500 transactions, and I live in Thompson's Station. If you're in the spot he was in, DM, text or call me at 615-392-1186.
What put my first Columbia short sale seller in a hole?
He bought a home in Columbia, in Maury County, then moved out of state for work, and the cost of living where he landed plus the mortgage back in Tennessee didn't work. He'd fallen behind in mid 2025. By the time he called me in January 2026 he was months behind, and his servicer was sending foreclosure-prevention letters. No foreclosure had been filed.
The loan was FHA, with a small second loan behind it. The house was older, with an older roof and older heating and air, and it had already been listed for months with another agent without an offer. The power and water were off, and it was the middle of winter.
Why didn't his Columbia house sell the first time?
The first listing was priced above what either kind of buyer would pay. On our second day I put it to him this way: "We're too high for flippers, and you were also too high for the person who's gonna move into the house. And that's why that didn't sell."
So we fixed the price first. I recommended a lower one on our second day, and we cut it again about three weeks after the house went live.
What options did he have besides a short sale?
He had four real options, and a short sale was the only one that fit.
| Option | What it meant for him | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the house with a loan modification | A modified payment, but he'd still be paying for a house in Tennessee while living somewhere else | The servicer approved a modification about four weeks after the house went live. He declined it in writing the next day. |
| Regular sale | He owed more than the house would bring, so a regular sale meant bringing money to closing | Not a fit, because the house was worth less than the loans |
| Let it go to foreclosure | The lender sells it at a trustee's sale and he loses control of the price and the date | Avoided |
| Short sale | He sells it himself for less than he owes, with the lender's approval | Closed in May 2026 |
Moving out didn't disqualify him. HUD's handbook says the Standard pre-foreclosure sale option "is available for Owner-Occupant and Non-Occupant Borrowers." It also requires the borrower to have "exhausted or been deemed ineligible for all permanent Loss Mitigation Home Retention Options," which is why the modification offer came first. (HUD Handbook 4000.1, last revised August 12, 2026.)
If you're weighing the same choices, your options when you owe more than your home is worth lays them all out, and short sale vs foreclosure in Tennessee compares the two side by side. That modification decision is yours, not your agent's. If keeping the house is possible and right for you, look hard at the offer before you say no.
What did I do on his FHA short sale, step by step?
On this FHA short sale, I got on the phone with his servicer on day two, had the house live nine days after he called, and kept the lender's review moving through a lost buyer.
- Day 1. We met by video call at 11 that morning. He emailed his mortgage statements by noon, and we signed the listing that afternoon.
- Day 2. I was at the house. Lockbox on, junk hauled out. Then he, his servicer's loss mitigation line and I got on a three-way call so the servicer would talk to me on his behalf. I recommended a lower price that same day. He signed the authorization form the next day. I suggested printing and signing in wet ink, just so there'd be no delay.
- Days 3 to 10. Seller disclosures updated, the house cleaned and photographed, power and water back on. An ice storm was coming, so I ran a heater and left the faucets dripping. I fronted close to $1,000 for the cleaning, junk removal, photos and utilities. He reviewed the listing before it went public, and it went live on day 10, nine days after his first call.
- Weeks 1 and 2 on the market. The servicer sent its loss mitigation packet. I pushed for the servicer's appraisal to get started before we had any offer, so it wouldn't hold us up later. Their appraiser came out about three weeks after the house went live.
- About three weeks in. We cut the price again, on a Friday on purpose. As I told him: "Anytime we want to do a price adjustment, doing it on a Friday is always great."
- About four weeks in. The servicer approved him for a modification. He declined it in writing the next day.
- Day 30 on the market. The first offer came in, contingent on the buyer selling their own home. I asked the servicer in writing whether it would accept a home-sale contingency on a short sale. The servicer told me it was the first time anyone had asked. A few days later a second offer came in with no home-sale contingency, at the asking price, and I recommended that one.
- Day 35. That contract was signed, and I sent the accepted offer and an estimated closing statement to the servicer the same day. By then the servicer had confirmed it had a complete application.
- About a week later. The buyer backed out after the inspection. I asked whether the price could drop to keep that buyer. The servicer said any change needed HUD, and HUD wasn't allowing list price reductions.
- The next day. We signed a release on the first contract, and I had a second buyer's agent on the phone the same day. I also asked the servicer a different question: "They are basically approving the structure of the deal, correct? So if a different buyer comes in but numbers remain the same we are good?" We countered at the same price and terms. Three days later we had a new contract, and the package went back to the servicer.
- The next two weeks. The servicer reviewed the closing statement line by line. The transaction coordinator and I reworked it until the seller's line read zero. Then HUD's conditions came in: a listing amendment with HUD's cancellation clause, several fees struck from the statement, and a line removed that would have sent cash to the buyer. We turned each one around within days.
- Day 63 on the market. The lender approved the short sale, 16 days after the second contract went in. I called him that afternoon, and he signed the short sale documents the next day.
- The last eight weeks. I checked in with the servicer along the way. The servicer won't issue a regular payoff on a short sale, and near the end the title company still needed the written release terms for the second loan, plus wire instructions. I chased them down, and they arrived two days before closing. He signed at a mobile closing, so he didn't have to travel back for it. Shipping the original documents pushed funding four days past the signing date.
The servicer also held help toward the buyer's closing costs to 3 percent of the price. Every number on that closing statement went through the servicer and, on this FHA loan, through HUD's rules. The short sale process post walks through each of these stages for any loan type.
How long did his Columbia short sale take?
My first Columbia short sale took 127 days from his first call to funding, about four months, as of the May 2026 closing. Most of that time was the lender's review and the closing paperwork. Finding the first buyer took about a month.
| Stretch | Days | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| First call to live on the market | 9 | 1 week |
| Live to first offer | 30 | 4 weeks |
| Live to first signed contract | 35 | 5 weeks |
| First contract released to new contract | 3 | Same week |
| New contract to lender approval | 16 | 2 weeks |
| Live to lender approval | 63 | 9 weeks |
| Approval to funded closing | 55 | 8 weeks |
| First call to funded closing | 127 | About 4 months |
Two files aren't a statistic. The other file ran on a very different clock, and how long a short sale takes puts both timelines side by side. The full second file is in Short Sale Case Study Two.
How did the short sale turn out for him?
He sold for less than he owed, with the lender's approval, and brought nothing to the closing table. No foreclosure was ever filed. The sale funded in May 2026, and he recorded this the next day.
My first Columbia short sale seller, in his own words, recorded in May 2026 after his short sale closed.
"What surprised me most about working with Kimo was just how little I had to do." Columbia short sale seller
"Truthfully, without Kimo I would have faced foreclosure, but thanks to his expertise, we were able to pull off a short sale and save me a lot of time, stress, and money." Columbia short sale seller, Zillow review
"To anybody facing a foreclosure, I can definitely say without a doubt doing a short sale is the way to go." Columbia short sale seller
What happens to the balance and your credit after an FHA short sale?
On an FHA short sale, HUD's definition has the lien holders agreeing to release their liens and forgive the deficiency balance, and your approval letter is what spells it out for your file. Get that answer in writing before you sign anything.
- The leftover balance. HUD's handbook defines a pre-foreclosure sale as one where "the lien holders agree to release their liens and forgive the deficiency balance." The CFPB warns that in some states a lender could sue for the deficiency after a short sale, and says that if the lender waives it, "get the waiver in writing and keep it for your records." After a foreclosure sale, Tennessee's deficiency statute (Tenn. Code Ann. § 35-5-117) lets a lender sue for what the sale didn't cover. Have a Tennessee real estate attorney read your approval letter. My second mortgage, HELOC and deficiency guide goes deeper.
- Your credit report. HUD makes the servicer tell you in writing that a short sale is reported to the credit bureaus and "will likely affect the Borrower's ability to obtain another Mortgage and other types of credit." The CFPB says a credit reporting company "generally can report most negative information for seven years."
- Your next FHA loan. HUD generally requires three years from the date title transferred in the short sale. It can be sooner if every mortgage and installment payment was made within the month due for the 12 months before the sale, or with documented extenuating circumstances beyond your control and re-established good credit since the sale. HUD says "the inability to sell the Property due to a job transfer or relocation to another area does not qualify" as one of those circumstances. Conventional, VA and USDA loans have their own rules, laid out in does a short sale hurt your credit. Ask a loan officer before you count on a date.
- Taxes. The IRS says that generally, "you must include the canceled debt in your income," and a lender that reports it sends Form 1099-C. IRS Publication 4681 (2025) says the main home exclusion doesn't cover discharges completed, or agreements made, after December 31, 2025. Other exclusions, such as insolvency, may apply. Talk to a tax professional before you sign the approval.
Disclosure: Tax figures on this page are the federal rules as published for 2026 and are for planning only. I am a licensed Realtor (TREC 369038), not a tax professional or a lender. Confirm your own situation with a CPA, and any borrowing limit with your lender, before you rely on a number.
If you're where he was, what should you do first?
Pull your mortgage statement and find out what the house is worth today, because those two numbers tell you whether you're in short sale territory at all. Then take these steps in order.
- Gather your numbers. Your latest mortgage statement, plus anything else secured by the house: a second loan, a HELOC, HOA dues.
- Find out what it's worth. Run it through my home equity calculator, or I'll run it for you. If you have equity, you may not need a short sale.
- Call your servicer's loss mitigation department. Ask what options you're being reviewed for. On an FHA loan, ask for HUD's pre-foreclosure sale information sheet, form HUD-90035.
- Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor. The CFPB's counselor search lists HUD-approved agencies that give independent advice, "often at little or no cost to you." Ask them about every option, including the ones that keep you in the house.
- Decide on the retention offer. If you've decided to sell, say so in writing, so the file doesn't sit.
- Don't assume you have to travel back. We did his first meeting by video, the servicer call by phone and his signing at a mobile closing.
- Line up the right professionals. A Tennessee real estate attorney for deficiency and foreclosure questions, a tax professional for forgiven debt.
If a foreclosure sale date is already set, read can you sell a house in foreclosure in Tennessee? today. For the whole picture, start with my Tennessee short sale guide. I work Franklin, Thompson's Station, Spring Hill, College Grove and Nashville, and down into Columbia and Maury County, where this file was.
Frequently asked questions about this FHA short sale
What is an FHA short sale?
An FHA short sale is a sale for less than you owe on an FHA-insured loan, approved through HUD's pre-foreclosure sale program. HUD's handbook defines it as a sale where the lien holders agree to release their liens and forgive the deficiency balance.
Can you do an FHA short sale if you moved out of the house?
Yes. HUD's Standard pre-foreclosure sale option is available for owner-occupant and non-occupant borrowers. My first Columbia short sale seller had moved out of state for work, and his short sale closed in May 2026.
How long did this Columbia short sale take?
My first Columbia short sale took 127 days from the seller's first call to funding, about four months. The house went live in 9 days, the lender approved the sale 63 days after that, and it closed 55 days after approval.
Did the seller pay anything at closing?
No. He sold for less than he owed, with the lender's approval, and brought nothing to the closing table. Your servicer's approval letter is what controls your own file.
How soon can you get an FHA loan after a short sale?
HUD generally requires three years from the date title transferred in the short sale, with exceptions for borrowers who were current for the 12 months before the sale or had documented extenuating circumstances beyond their control and have re-established good credit. HUD says a job transfer or relocation doesn't count as one of those circumstances.
Behind on an FHA loan and the house won't sell for what you owe?
Tell me what you owe and where the payments stand, and I'll tell you which options look open before another envelope shows up. DM, text or call me at 615-392-1186.
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