Buying Short Sale from Wife

[Devan R.]

My wife purchased a townhome in 2006 at the height of the market. She paid $180k for the property. Today its worth $89k according to Zillow. We owe $147k on this property. We did some renovations 2 years ago totally redoing the kitchen and a bathroom. The last townhome in the neighborhood sold for $40k.

We are building a new home and expected to move in this summer (June). Our plan was to rent out the townhome for years until we could break even on the home. I was speaking with someone earlier today and they mentioned my wife could possibly short sale the property to me or a family member. My name is not on the property, can my wife short sale the home to me? If so, we would eagerly approach that idea.

Thanks in advance.

[Account Closed]

Most short sales require an affidavit where the seller and agent and buyer all state that the sale is arms-length and that the seller (and/or their family members) will not remain in the property. IMO, this sale wouldn't qualify. You can do a google search to look at a copy of the actual affidavit. Pretty much all the institutional lenders use them. Tread carefully. Any kind of fraud when dealing with a lender is a federal crime. Make sure you get legal advice before you sign such an affidavit.