Negotiating Backed Mortgage Payoff

[Kenisha Coleman]

SORRY IF ITS TOO LONG😩

Hey Everyone!,

I have this house under contract for $1k. Now the sellers agreed on $1k because of the condition, sold backed taxes, their weird foreclosure and headaches. The sellers went through foreclosure, got kicked out and changed the locks. It wasn't until their ex-neighbor came to them (they moved 8 house down) and told them that they had bought 2/3 lots they had owned. Plus according to their plate, the house septic tank was on one of the lots they bought. Making it impossible to sell, so they should demo the house and they will buy it cheaply. The sellers didn't even know they still owned the house because of the foreclosure and they also had filed bankruptcy. Not having money for the demo the seller said no. They have been at war ever since.

When I first called the seller, she gave me every excuse as to why she couldn't take about the home because she didn't know if they still owned it. She said the time she called the county, they would tell her anything. I followed up with her for 7 months until she was finally ready to meet and I could show her proof they still owned it. And could convince her husband to come. When we meet, my husband showed her county records and back $21k taxes that had been sold. Now keep in mind that the house needed a new house😫. When we got the contract signed, we went to the house to put a lockbox on the door. But we were meet with violent opposition from the super tall grass only to discover that all the glass from every window and door was on the ground.

The comps in the area were about $115k with 70k in repairs😫. We were determined to make it work. We put out an ad everywhere for $7k plus backed taxes. We would pay closing costs. It had went to tax sale years before and was bought by an LLC. (When we were doing research, we found that in our county you have 2 years from the day you buy the lien to take action or file the paperwork with the county or the lien was null and void as well as their investment. That would erase $13.5k away. The deadline was 2 months away.

The day before the open house, the title came back and we were told they still owned the mortgage and it was not wiped out in the bankruptcy. The mortgage had 95k left. Our mentor told us about being able to negotiate with the mortgage company. So we had the open house and got 3 seriously interested buyers. One being the neighbor in front of the house. The next-door neighbor came out and of course, told everyone that they owned the plot with the tank and was not selling. We told the buyers we were in the process of getting a new survey to clear up the lot situation and lowering the mortgage. We made it clear that a emd was required and if the sale did not close because we couldn't fulfill our part, it was refundable. But if they canceled before closing it was none refundable.

One of the investors said he had as well negotiated with short sales and was interested but wouldn't put down an emd. The other investor said he could get information on the survey and was also interested but also didn't want to put down an emd. The neighbor was interested and also was friends with the neighbor so he was sure he could get them to sell the piece with the septic tank and signed the contract for $7k (before the open hours he placed a bid for 10k, but because of the backed taxes dropped it to asking price.) and put down $2.5k emd. After the seller found their plate, it said we owned a piece of the neighbor garage (the neighbor owned their home, the 2 lots they bought at tax sale and the house next to the seller's house). The interested neighbor agreed to go half on a new survey.

But we soon found out mortgage company fell into bankruptcy and the seller didn't remember who bought the debt😭. We found who had bought the seller's debt and signed limited power of attorney to speak on their behalf. We send a video and pictures to the new centers along with a repair cost sheet, ARV and comps. When they called back they said the lowest they could go is 22k. We need it less than 5k. (Building rapport and small talk does faze her demeanor) 3 weeks before the closing and tax sale, the buyer cancels the contract (even though we update both seller and buyer two-three times a week) and the lawyer asks for the emd back. We remind him of the contract terms.

We scramble to find a new buyer. Then wanting to sell it to the neighbor, the seller goes awol for 5 days. We, buyer, reach back out to my husband during the sellers awol and we negotiate the same terms with the same emd and purchase price agree though no new contract was signed. He calls every week.

My questions are;

1. Has anyone ever successfully negotiated a short sale? If so any tips?

2. Have you ever heard of a county selling a septic tank and not the house?

3. I also heard that if you buy the remaining debt from the county, you don't need to pay the liens/mortgage. Has anyone heard this?

4. If it is true, and the collection agency doesn't lower the price, do you think it would be smart to sign a contract with the buyer helping him obtain the property that way for the remaining $4.5k?

Sorry about the novel😩.

Thanks in advance😁.