Fannie Mae is testing a small pilot program in Orlando, Orange County, Florida in order to speed up real estate short sales. Orlando, Florida has risen above the larger real estate markets in Florida to become one of the leading areas for single family home resales during the last year.

The pilot program that is being tested in Orlando has been set in place to streamline short sales, which at the present can take months before the potential homeowner gets an answer regarding the sale. A short sale is a real estate transaction in which the lender of the property sells the property for less money than what is still owed on the loan. This enables the lender to avoid the foreclosure costs and the seller an option to avoid foreclosure altogether. With the record number of foreclosures in the Country, short sales are abundant.

This streamlining process consists of getting all the research on the property done in advance, in order to cut the time for completing a short sale. Which could in turn, speed up the process of moving some of the real estate inventory. The pilot program will also include some listings in the Hillsborough County, Polk County, Pasco County, Charlotte County, Manatee County and Sarasota County areas of Florida.