How we research our short sale and foreclosure guides

Key takeaway

Every guide on this site starts with research, not opinion. Across 20 pages that means 89 cited sources from 35 websites, Zillow home values back to 2016, and an audit of 20 Google searches and the 62 top-ranking pages behind them. AI-assisted tools help us gather and cross-check it, and every figure is traced to a source listed on its page.

At a glance

Pages researched	20 guides and pages, about 40,000 words
Sources cited	89, from 35 websites; 71 of them from government agencies, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
Researched facts	174 facts on file, each with its source and the date it was checked
Market data	Zillow home values, monthly, 2016 to August 2026, plus Freddie Mac weekly mortgage rates
Search audits	20 Google searches audited, 62 top-ranking pages compared
Questions answered	140 FAQs; the search audits collected 151 questions people ask Google
Agent details	Abril Burgoyne, Utah principal broker, license 9085882-PB00

Counted from the pages on this site and our research files when the site was last built.

Step 1: Find the questions people actually ask

Before a guide is planned, we look at what people search for about short sales and foreclosure in Herriman and Utah, and how often, using keyword data from Ahrefs. A topic earns a page only when people are asking about it. Herriman itself has little short sale search, so national questions such as what a short sale is are answered under Utah law with Herriman examples.

Studying the search results

For each guide we pull the results Google shows for its main search from Salt Lake City, along with the questions in Google's "People also ask" box, using DataForSEO. We then fetch and compare the pages that rank highest: what they cover, how they are organized and where they leave readers without an answer.

Setting the standard for each page

Those comparisons set a minimum for every guide: the subtopics it must cover, the questions it must answer and how deep it must go. A guide is not finished until it covers more of what the reader needs than the pages already ranking.

Step 2: Gather the facts from the source

Every number on this site comes from a source that was opened and read, and that source is listed at the bottom of the page.

Utah law and federal rules

Foreclosure deadlines come from the Utah Code, such as 57-1-24 on the notice of default and 78B-2-313 on short sale deficiencies. Loan rules come from the agency that sets them: HUD for FHA loans, the VA for VA loans, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their loans, the CFPB's Regulation X for servicers, and the IRS for canceled debt.

Market data

Home values come from the Zillow Home Value Index, downloaded as monthly data for the City of Herriman, ZIP 84096, Salt Lake County and Utah. Mortgage rates come from Freddie Mac's weekly survey. We use these figures as published and name the month or week.

Local records

Recording and lookup details come from the Salt Lake County Recorder, and boundaries from the U.S. Census Bureau. Where an office does not publish something, we say so and tell you who to ask.

Step 3: How we use AI in our research

We use AI-assisted research tools for the heavy lifting: searching for sources, reading statutes, agency guides and data files, pulling out the figures that matter and comparing them across sources. Reading that much by hand would take weeks for every guide; AI lets us check more sources per page and correct a page faster when a rule changes.

What it does not decide

AI tools do not decide what is true. Every figure has to trace back to a source that was opened and is listed on the page. When a figure cannot be confirmed, it is left out, or the page tells you who to ask, such as your servicer, a Utah attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor. Some photos on this site are AI-generated scenes of the area; they never show a real address or a real person.

Step 4: Check every figure

Research turns up disagreements between sources, and some widely repeated claims are out of date. Before a guide goes live, its key facts are checked against the primary source.

Examples of what that checking caught

The federal tax break on forgiven mortgage debt has ended for new debt. Many pages still describe the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act as current. The IRS says the exclusion covers debt discharged before January 1, 2026, or under a written arrangement made before then, so our tax guide says exactly that. See the guide.
Herriman is not the same as ZIP 84096. Census data shows only about 28% of the ZIP code's land is in the City of Herriman, so we lead with Zillow's figure for the city and label any ZIP figure as a ZIP figure. See the guide.
FHA short sales run under new rules. FHA's Pre-Foreclosure Sale program now runs under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-12, so the FHA guide follows that letter rather than older summaries. See the guide.
Utah has its own short sale deficiency deadline. Utah Code 78B-2-313 limits a lender's suit for the shortfall after a short sale to three months after the release is recorded, with exceptions. Generic national pages leave it out. See the guide.

Automated checks on every page

Every page is also checked by script before it is published: that it meets its depth standard, that each page lists its sources, that the language meets Fair Housing standards, that no two pages repeat each other, and that every internal link works.

Step 5: Review before publishing

Guides are reviewed by Abril Burgoyne, our recommended agent, and the date at the top of a page changes only when its content does. How we choose that agent, and what we check, is set out on our about page.

The standards every page follows

Fair Housing. Areas are described by their homes, prices and rules, never by the people who live there.
Dated figures. Home values name the month, rates name the week, and rules name the year or the version of the guide they come from.
Not advice. The guides explain how foreclosure, short sales, loans and taxes work. For your own situation, confirm with a Utah attorney, a tax professional or a HUD-approved housing counselor.
No invented claims. We never state an agent's sales, awards or reviews without a named source, and we label what we could not confirm.

Keeping the guides current

Zillow publishes new home values every month and Freddie Mac publishes mortgage rates every week. Utah's foreclosure statutes and the federal loan programs change less often, but they do change. We update a page when its figures or rules change.

Spotted something wrong?

If a figure looks out of date or wrong, send us a note with the page and the source you are looking at. We check every correction against the original source and update the page if it needs it.

How we research our guides