A California law which went into effect January 1 prohibits a seller's first trust deed lender from obtaining a deficiency judgment against the seller after a short sale, per Cal. Civ. Proc. Code Sec. 580e.  Of course, the holder of the first deed of trust or first mortgage must give written consent.  And it applies to a dwelling of not more than four units.  But that certainly covers the average California homeowner and more.  (Read the full text of Stats. 2010, c.701, including the Legislative Counsel's Digest here.)  And the even better news is that  California tax law conforms to Federal mortgage forgiveness debt relief, which means no income tax will be due on the forgiven debt for short sales concluded during taxable years 2009 through 2012.  See the California Franchise Tax Board's explanation here.  See IRS Publication 4681for the feds' explanation.  [BB]