IRS Appraisal Request

[Matthew Otero]

Why would the title company request an appraisal from my bank at the request of the IRS? The seller has been in trouble for some time and I already purchased one property off of him, but on our second deal I'm not sure what to make of it. The title company states since the IRS has a stake in the property they want to make sure the seller is selling at fair market value. We are keeping the realtors out on this deal, I offered $104k on the investment property and it appraised for $115k. Is the spread too much and the IRS wont allow the sale to close? Is there a specific percentage range I need to be in? We have been under contract since October waiting on the IRS to allow the closing.