Found a Pre-Foreclosure/Probate Deal - not Sure What's Next?

[Stephen Brown]

Hello Biggerpockets. I need some help with a situation I've ran into. I've found a home here in Toledo, Ohio where the owner died and he did not leave a will, and the property has been sitting vacant for two years. I found this out by calling the son, who lives in another part of Ohio, and tells me that the mortgage is held through Fifth Third Bank who reached out to him 2 years ago but he hasn't heard anything since. I'm trying to figure out how I can go about finding the person at Fifth Third Bank who could help me out in purchasing this property before it goes for auction. Has anyone done this before? Last time I tried calling for a similar property I got nowhere. The son tells me the property will not go to him and that his father was underwater on it.

[Minna Reid]

The lender wont talk to you about this. They don't own the property to sell it. You need to locate the owner of the property (likely the son), and they need to sell it to you. Furthermore this sounds like a short sale. Short sales require lots of documents and effort from the seller. If the seller has nothing to gain from the sale, they likely wont cooperate and you are wasting your time. Eventually the property will foreclose and you can then buy it as a REO.