Getting a Clean Title

[Jeff Smith]

Recently, I found out about a house in Houston that was flooded and the seller wanted to ditch it. We spoke about the property and I found out there are some nuances that are going to require some time and work before I can actually close on the deal. Here's a brief history of what's happened, and I'm hoping that some other people may have some advice on how to proceed. If you happen to be an attorney with direct experience with this matter, I would particularly like to speak with you.

The seller for this house is the executor of her father's estate, and they had an owner finance agreement with the previous occupants. Once Harvey hit, these occupants left the house, and then did not continue to pay on the owner financing lease. For those not familiar, an owner financing agreement is like getting a loan through the bank in that the title is now in your name. Therefore, this house title is in the name of the previous occupants and NOT in the name of the seller who provided the owner financing.

In a nutshell, I understand that they will need to go through the proper legal avenues of notification of violation of the owner finance agreement and essential foreclose on the house to take ownership back. My question is if others have experienced this, and what is the best and fastest way to make this process happen? Do you know any attorneys with experience in this situation that I could work with to help this seller get all the documentation straightened out?