First rehab to a possible end

[Account Closed]

Hey BPers I was in negotiation to buy a home that has been abandoned for around 3 years. With the helpful push of some members on here, I went through with the contract signing and sending it to a title company. After 5 days of high anticipation (first rehab) I receive a call from the closing agent stating the contract is void because the owner has a mortgage around 40k. He never told me this and came off as though he completely owned the property. Thank goodness for the closing agent! My issue is this, I still want to purchase the house but in no wag want his mortgage. The repair value alone looks to be around 30k and location is in a 50-80k neighborhood. Is there anything I can do to continue this deal without the mortgage issue? Should I let this go and search for a new location? Any other options??