Estate Sale and Potential Short Sale

[Andy Deason]

I need advice. I have a friend who lives out of state. She contacted me and asked if I'd like to buy her father's house in Texas. He passed away about 6 months ago (unexpectedly). She has not probated the will and says there may be two individuals still living in the house that were living there with her dad. She thinks her dad still owes about $90,000 on the loan. She is not sure if it's still being paid or not. She notified the lender that her dad passed away but they won't talk to her because she doesn't own the home. I told her my offer would be around $90,000 based on the ARV and amount of repairs/updates it needs. She says that she may just throw in the towel as she doesn't see any benefit to her going through the costs of probating the will and evicting the guys still living in the house. I'm trying to find ways to add value for her so everyone wins. Any thoughts? One idea I had was to talk with the bank to see if they'd accept a short-sale around $80,000 and then pay her a $10,000 fee or bonus but wasn't sure if this would be legal. Also, it would require her probating the will so they will talk to her.

Anyone that has been through this scenario, let me know how you handled it. I want to create a win-win-win situation for her, the bank, and me. How can I make that happen and what's your experience with short sales?

Thanks for your time.

Andy