Short sales become increasingly complicated for lenders

A new report from Zillow.com says that banks are facing more obstacles to making short sales, Diana Olick of CNBC reported. While the percentage of borrowers who are underwater on their mortgages declined in the third quarter, to 21 percent from 23 percent, the abundance of negative home equity, coupled with the growing number of homeowners who have taken on second mortgages, has made it harder for banks to complete short sales, the report says. Tim Wilson, president of Long & Foster Companies real estate group, the largest real estate company in the mid-Atlantic, said that the short sale situation has grown so complicated that his firm has designated a specific team just to handle short sales.