Exit strategy: short sale or subject-to then purchase non-performing note

[Jane George]

I am currently working with a probate lead. I am in Texas. There was no will.

The administrator assigned to the estate is the mother of her deceased son. There is no money in the estate and the administrator is elderly, living on a fixed income. She cannot afford the mortgage. She doesn't expect to see any money in the process. She just wants this house gone.

The property is 30 months behind on the mortgage, but a sale date has not yet been set. I already have a 3rd party authorization from the administrator of the estate and talked with the lender (big bank) yesterday. I am also a Realtor. I'm thinking of two different strategies and would like to know which you think is best, advantages / disadvantages of each:

A) Offer the lender a cash purchase of the property under a short sale

B) Offer the administrator of the estate a subject-to then offer to purchase the nonperforming note with cash from the lender

Thanks for your input!

[Dennis Lanni]

I have had good success getting approvals with probate / shortsale properties (less paperwork because the borrower is deceased) but the discounts have been @20% of FMV (which if the house needs a lot of repairs works for me (I provided constrution bids, police reports, ect...).