Opting for a Short Sale? Beware the Cost to Your Credit

The mortgage crisis of 2008 left John Markson much like it did tens of thousands of homeowners across the country -- stuck, stressed and forced to make desperate and costly financial moves.
For Markson, it hit especially hard. He is a deck-builder by trade, and when the real estate market dried up, so did the work and his salary. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia home he'd lived in for barely two years declined in value,