Short sale

[Account Closed]

Last week I saw and made an offer on a house built in 1960 that had been on market 73 days. It had been listed originally at 167K, then reduced and relisted 152K, the blurb reading "possible short sale". I took of the 30%, then guestimate repairs at 25 to 30K and offered $90.

They have till tomorrow, but my agent just called and said she had talked to seller's agent and they want another week. I asked what the mortgage was, because the short sale means the bank will accept less that the mortgage owed.

My agent said there's more to it than that--agent commissions, taxes, and other things, and I kept saying, "the description of a short sale is less than is owed on the mortgage." She said she'd call the agent to ask, but didn't expect an answer, and called back immediately to say the mortgage owed is 158000. How can that be?

They bought it in 2002 for $68,498 according to county records, and EVEN if they got a second mortgage, a lender wouldn't loan that almost whole amount again, would it?

What percentage would a lender normally loan on a house that has almost no owner equity?

Based on the above, what is the most likely amount the seller received on a second mortgage and the total he still owes--assuming that he paid little off the principal from 2002 to now and did get the highest amount possible in a second mortgage?

I just can't believe that he would would have been loaned 89000 on top of his purchase price. Solds in this area are in $150-180000 range
What do you think?
Thanks
ofgift