The home was placed on the market in November of 2007 for $397,000...was then rented in March of 2008 and placed back on the market in January of 2009 at $289,500.
The above is a scenario that I discuss with potential sellers all of the time. Often, after determining the current probable market value of their home, a seller will say "I'm not going to give my house away, I'll just rent it if I can't sell it for what I want". But in a declining market, every month a home sits unsold...it is losing value...the sellers purchased the home for $397,000, put 10% down, and then wanted/needed to sell 9 months after they moved in. If the home was priced correctly in Nov/07, the loss would have been mitigated with possibly NO short sale necessary (although a loss of their down payment).
