Purchasing a short-sale home can be an excellent way to stretch your home purchase budget. However, it can definitely make the home buying process longer and more complex. Here you will find the basics of short sales, including details about how a short sale works for the seller, to help you decide if pursuing a short sale is worth the extra time and effort. What is a Short Sale? Simply put, a short sale may be authorized by the mortgage lender when the current property value is lower than the outstanding balance owed on the mortgage. For example, if a homeowner has an outstanding mortgage balance of $500,000 and the current market value of their home is $450,000, they would be short $50,000 - that's where the term 'short sale' comes from. For a short sale to happen, the lender must consent to the process and agree to accept less than the outstanding balance on…