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As the number of foreclosures increases across the region and around the country, so does the popularity of a tool to dodge them: the short sale.

A short sale is nothing new, but it’s a form of transaction banks rarely allowed until recently. In a short sale, owners sell for less than they owe on their mortgage and lenders agree to accept the lower amount as payment in full.

It allows banks to avoid taking possession of the house and helps sellers get out from under a home they can no longer afford.

A seminar Friday in Bonita Springs will educate buyers, sellers and real estate agents on how a short sale works. Short sales are more complicated than a traditional transaction and often take longer to complete.

Scott Berry, owner of Sand Castle Mortgage Group Inc. and Sand Castle Realty, said short sales have become so much a part of his business that he’s set up a three-person division to handle them.

“What we’re trying to do is help people before they end up in bankruptcy,” Berry said. “These loans are for people who find themselves in a really tight spot.”

There were 1,764 foreclosures in Lee County in November, and the county is expected to break the record of more than 9,000 foreclosures by the end of the year. Many homeowners are turning to short sales as a way to avoid becoming one of those foreclosure statistics.

Wes Brodersen, president of EXIT Gulder Real Estate in Bonita Springs, is co-hosting the event along with Key Mortgage Brokers Inc. He said one of the frustrations with short sales is they take so long to complete.

“Banks haven’t adjusted to the reality yet,” he said. “An offer will land on someone’s desk and it moves and it moves and it moves until someone either approves it or turns it down. It can be frustrating for sellers and for buyers.”

Frank Coffey agrees. Coffey, a Realtor with EXIT Gulder, said in a normal transaction, a buyer will find out within a day or two whether the seller accepts his offer. A closing typically happens a month or so after that. But he’s seen it take four to six weeks in a short sale deal just to find out whether the offer has been accepted.

And there are other complicating factors as well: The bank must receive documentation that the homeowner can no longer meet his loan payment, often including a letter of hardship, pay stubs and bank account information. Buyers also need to be aware that once the sale has been completed, they may have to report the forgiven debt to the IRS and pay taxes on it.

Berry said his short-sale staff typically submits a comprehensive package to the lender along with the offer, spelling out details on what it would cost the lender to carry the home should it fall into foreclosure — expenses like homeowner association fees, repairs the home needs and lawn maintenance.

“We map it all out for them,” he said. “In many cases, the lender has never seen the property.”

Terry Dona, president and underwriter for Bonita Springs-based Metro Mortgage, said many foreclosures and short sales can be traced back to two things: unscrupulous lenders and buyers who had little money but didn’t want to miss out on the boom.

She also said foreclosures and short sale homes seem to be turning up in pockets across the region.

“You see it in places like Lehigh Acres, Golden Gate Estates and Cape Coral in neighborhoods where families live and lots of speculating was going on at the height of the boom in 2004 and 2005,” she said. “In places like Naples and Bonita Springs, there’s not as much of it. When you do see it, it’s usually in older neighborhoods.”

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Friday’s seminar will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bonita Springs/Estero Board of Realtors office, 25300 Bernwood Drive, Bonita Springs. Call Brodersen at 992-3330 for additional information.