Cant find a good title on a property

[John DeFoor]

I am wondering if anyone can give me a tip on a problem that I have ran into on a property that I am looking to purchase. I have found a house for dirt cheap in decent condition.  I met with the owner and found out that the house has been tied up in probate for 5 years and he stated that it was just resolved in June of this year. problem is I cant find a good deed or any information that would show this person who was the son of the previous owner as being the owner at this time or any one else the only deed that I can find is the deed that his mother had on the property. I have also searcher the county website for probate cases and can not find anything with him or his mother on the probate site. I have 6 years of doing this type of research from a previous job with the city I live in so I am pretty good at finding this information but this house seems to be a ghost in the system. Any pointers or tips from others who may have dealt with a situation such as this or should I walk away from this deal all together.

[Wayne Brooks]

It's not a ghost, you said the deed is still in the mother's name...mystery solved.  Have him sign a contract, open escrow, and the title will tell him what he needs to be able to transfer title.  Either he has done it, and can produce it, or he hasn't.  You could just ask him for specific probate information/verification, but the title co. Will have to do it later anyway.