Advice on abandoned property / pre REO

Advice on abandoned property / pre REO

Lender · NY/FL · Member since 2013 · 240 posts · 44 votes

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to get some advice on a potential deal, here are the details:

There is a house in my old neighborhood, it was owned by an elderly man who has passed away. To my knowledge there is no next of kin.

The house has sat vacant for over a year and continues to deteriorate. Based on the condition it would be a full renovation. I spoke to the local tax assessor, the deceased man is still listed as the owner. I also found out that the taxes are up to date and have been paid by a local bank. Since this bank is paying the taxes, I know they have some interest in the property.

I reached out to the bank to gather more information and I was informed that the house is not yet a REO and was referred to the mortgage servicing department. I have left a message with them and hopefully will hear back this coming week.

Now my questions are:

- What is the status of this house? I can hopefully get this once I get a call back, but since I was told its not a REO yet, I'm thinking possibly being held in a trust or going to foreclosure.

-Would the bank take offers on this house? What would be the right way to approach this?

-Are there any other questions I should ask the bank?

Any help from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation is extremely appreciated.

Nick

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  • Real Estate Consultant · Bloomfield, NJ · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    13y

    - What is the status of this house? I can hopefully get this once I get a call back, but since I was told its not a REO yet, I'm thinking possibly being held in a trust or going to foreclosure. - Check your county recorder (likely online in FL) and see if a deed has been recorded conveying property away from the decedent. If not, check with the sheriff to see if they have it scheduled for auction. Likely the property is still being held by the owner's estate.

    -Would the bank take offers on this house? What would be the right way to approach this? - The bank can only take offers if they own it. And they will only take offers if they have it for sale. Rarely any exceptions to this.

    -Are there any other questions I should ask the bank? - Forget the bank. Unless they own it they can't help you. And if they don't own it they can't even give you any info UNLESS you have written authorization from someone with interest in the property (owner, legal rep. of owner's estate, judgment creditor, junior lien holder etc.).

    Again, check with county to see who owns it AND amount of original mortgage to have some idea as to how much equity is in the property. It may be underwater. Are you prepared to work this deal as a short sale?

    Next check with the county surrogate or whoever handles your probate files to see if a legal rep. has been appointed. If so that's who you should be looking to speak with about buying the house. Let us know how you make out.

  • Lender · NY/FL · Member since 2013 · 240 posts · 44 votes
    13y

    Thanks for the info Ibrahim S.

    The home is actually in New York, average home in that area is going between 350 - 400k.

    I was able to pull up some records from the county clerk and to be honest they are a little overwhelming.

    There are about 50 records that date back to 1970 around the time the house was built. The last record is from june of 08, which is for an equity loan with the bank that is currently paying the taxes. It looks like they have pulled out a few small equity loans on the property (15, 20k). In all honesty I'm still unsure how to read all these records.

    There is another person listed on these docs, a daughter who is still alive, but from my knowledge would not have the mean to do anything with the house. The fact that shes still in the picture, would she be the one I should be trying to reach out to?

  • Jerry W.Pro Member
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    Investor · Thermopolis, WY · Member since 2012 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    13y

    Nick G. If the owner has passed away then his heirs under his will or his heirs under intestate succession are the people who have a right to take action. There are several possible senarios. 1. The bank will forclose eventually and it will be auctioned off or whatever means NY uses on forclosures. 2. There will be a probate and the heirs will end up owning it. It is unfortunate but often people die and the heirs never hear about it or fail to do anything about the persons death. If the deceased has children they will be the obvious heirs unless there is a will otherwise. If you can contact the daughter she can tell you the family history, ie number of children, wives who seperated but never divorced, etc. I have occassionally handled estates where several years passed before anyone decided to take action. If the daughter passed away and there are no other children or grandchildren, then cousins or nephews/nieces may be the heirs. If you can find the legal heirs you may be able to buy the rights to the house and pay to have the property probated. You would have to make the mortgage payments as probate does not do away with the secured debts on the property. Be careful because if there are a lot of outstanding bills owed by the deceased the estate, all estate assests, including the property can be liable for them. I had one estate where the children decided not to probate the property of their father because he has cancer, their father owed several hundred thousand dollars to Doctors and hospitals, his estate was only worth about 70K$, so they just took the personal possessions they wanted and walked away.

  • Lender · NY/FL · Member since 2013 · 240 posts · 44 votes
    13y

    Thanks for the info @jerry w. I am going to try and contact the daughter along with gathering any other info I can. I'll keep you guys updated as this developes.

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