Reverse Mortgage, Probate, Pre-foreclosure, Wholesale

[Sophie Thomas]

I have been contacted by a woman from my probate mailers. She is the executor of her mothers estate, and she contacted me because she wanted to know what I could offer for her mother's farm. The farm was listed for 6 months, but now it is off-market because it did not sell. The property is a 28 acre horse farm with a rancher. Seller told me the property was going to be foreclosed on by the bank in September if it didn't sell. The bank has a reverse mortgage on the property with a current balance of $398,000, and the house was listed for $554,000. I have partners that I may be able to wholesale it too if I could buy at a discount. But, here's my question:

How do I negotiate the bank to sell for less than appraised value to me, the investor on a property that they ? Or would I have to negotiate with HUD at that point since it is probably a federally-insured reverse mortgage?

I know that in a normal pre-foreclosure situation, an investor can negotiate a short sale with the bank by showing them how much more the bank would net by selling to the investor instead of at an auction. But, since I'm under the impressions that banks don't auction off properties with reverse mortgages how do I negotiate and with who?