Hi, I am a little new to Real Estate and I just have a question. Sadly my neighbor died 2 years ago and her house has been sitting next to ours abandoned for 2 years now. I have talked to my neighbors child on buying the house but they stated that there was still $80,000 owed on the mortgage and I also know that there are taxes still owed from 2019 that was not paid (from what I can see in the county records). I was wondering whats the next step to trying to get this house without obtaining the full $80,000 mortgage that was left behind on it, if there is any.
@Regis Luckett Buy the property subject to the existing mortgage if not prohibited where you are. Despite what you may hear, they are still legal in most places but there are increased rules since the crash. Tell the kids you'll pay all back taxes and closing costs. If they balk, offer a little more on top. Maybe 5-10k so they get something out of it. Obviously it will depend on what it's worth and repairs needed. Find someone near you at a meetup or ask a few realtors if they know anyone experienced with sub 2. Good luck
What market are you in? Without knowing much about your market, I can tell you that you have a couple of options.
The first would be to first find out who the house belongs to now that the neighbor has passed away. Is the child now making decisions? Is there an executor? Is it still in the owner's name and the child is letting it go to foreclosure because they don't want to take on the debt? You need to do some research there.
Once you find a decision maker, you can see if they would be interested in short selling it to you. This would require the current lender holding the mortgage to negotiate a lower price than what is owed. Sometimes the appraisal will dictate what the Lender will take.
Another option would be to wait until the property is sent to foreclosure. If you have the cash to buy it, you can bid to purchase. If you don't have the cash to buy it, and it reverts back to the Lender. It may go up for sale as a REO (Real Estate Owned). At that point, you can make an offer on it using a Realtor, or contacting the Realtor who has listed it.
@Regis Luckett Buy the property subject to the existing mortgage if not prohibited where you are. Despite what you may hear, they are still legal in most places but there are increased rules since the crash. Tell the kids you'll pay all back taxes and closing costs. If they balk, offer a little more on top. Maybe 5-10k so they get something out of it. Obviously it will depend on what it's worth and repairs needed. Find someone near you at a meetup or ask a few realtors if they know anyone experienced with sub 2. Good luck
How much is the house worth and what will renos cost? As others said it doesn't matter that there is a mortgage on it, the kids can pay it off after you buy it.
Thank you for the responses. The last house that was sold on my block sold for 202,000 4 months ago. The comps the houses around my area is 180,000. I have been in the property before and I know it needs a work on the inside.