Walking Away
From Your Home —
Options for
Buffalo NY Homeowners

The best exit is a cash sale to Nickel City Buyers — whenever any equity exists above total liens. A cash sale closes in 7–21 days, pays the lender’s full payoff at closing (eliminating deficiency risk and 1099-C tax consequences), pays any remaining equity directly to you, and leaves your credit with minimal damage — just a standard paid-off mortgage. No lender approval required. No auctions. You control the move-out date. Call (716) 557-7005 for a free equity assessment — many WNY homeowners have more equity than they realize.

Almost always, a short sale is significantly better than a completed foreclosure in New York. A short sale results in less credit damage, avoids the public record of a Sheriff Sale, provides the opportunity to negotiate a written deficiency waiver, and avoids the 7-year conventional mortgage waiting period that foreclosure imposes. The main requirement is lender approval, which takes 60–120 days and requires documented hardship. A cash sale is even better than a short sale if you have equity — it closes faster, doesn’t require lender approval, and avoids every negative consequence of both short sale and foreclosure. See our Short Sale vs Foreclosure guide.

Yes — but you need to take deliberate action to make it happen. The safest way is a cash sale that pays your lender’s full payoff at closing — no deficiency, no 1099-C, no remaining liability. For short sales and deeds in lieu, you must negotiate a written deficiency waiver from the lender before the transaction closes — without this, you remain personally liable for any shortfall. If the foreclosure completes without a waiver, New York law gives your lender 90 days to file for a deficiency judgment. Bankruptcy (Chapter 7) can discharge the personal debt after the fact, but has severe credit consequences. See our Deficiency Judgment guide.

Yes — a deed in lieu generally results in less credit damage than a completed foreclosure. Most credit scoring models treat a deed in lieu as less severe than a foreclosure — primarily because it shows voluntary cooperation with the lender rather than a contested court process. The difference in impact is real but not enormous: both are serious negative items. A cash sale is significantly better than both — it results in a standard paid-off mortgage notation rather than any derogatory reporting, and typically adds no waiting period for future mortgage eligibility. See our full Deed in Lieu guide.

In New York, simply stopping payments and abandoning the property does not quickly resolve your situation — because New York is a judicial foreclosure state, the process takes 12–36 months. During that entire time, you remain liable for the property: mortgage debt, property taxes, HOA dues, code violations, and any maintenance issues. Vacant properties in Buffalo and Erie County accumulate code violation notices rapidly. After the Sheriff Sale completes, the lender has 90 days to pursue a deficiency judgment for any remaining balance. Stopping payments and walking away without a formal exit strategy is the worst possible outcome — it takes the longest and leaves you with the most exposure.

We serve all of Erie and Niagara County — Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Amherst, Tonawanda, Lackawanna, West Seneca, Hamburg, Orchard Park, Lancaster, Depew, Kenmore, Williamsville, East Aurora, Clarence, Akron, Grand Island, Niagara Falls, Lockport, North Tonawanda, Lewiston, Youngstown, Wheatfield, Pendleton, and Newfane. Call (716) 557-7005 for a free equity assessment and a 10-minute walkthrough of which exit option makes the most sense for your specific situation.