It's important that you pick a Realtor with a wealth of experience in short sales to negotiate your short sale agreement. As you are now aware, short sale deficiency forgiveness is not guaranteed in most states, but a Realtor with a wealth of experience and expertise in short sales may be capable to negotiate deficiency forgiveness in many circumstances. A short sale occurs when a lender agrees to take less than the full loan payoff for an owner's property. In most cases (but not always) the owner is in default and is not making their payments for whatever reason. Short sales, in most circumstances, are the first step to avoid foreclosure. If you are in a short sale situation, don't feel alone or trapped. You do have options. However, short sales are very complicated and should only be handled by an experienced professional.