Need help with a deal Im looking to wholesale!!

[Eddie Sanchez]

I have a home owner that contacted me saying that he is getting a divorce with his wife and they are both on the mortgage. He is looking for 25,000 now to pay his wife and she is willing to get her name off the mortgage. He is willing to sell his house in 4 yrs and currently has over 100,000 in equity. He had his house on the market for 265,000 but has then taken it off and is keeping it for 4 yrs. Any idea how I can wholesale this property and will it be worth dealing with this?? Thank you in advance for your feedback.

[Jon Holdman]

Hard to wholesale a deal the owner is unwilling to sell. Four years, forty years, not much difference.

What this guy is really looking for is a $25K loan. If his income and credit is OK, and he really has $100K in equity on a house that's worth something south of $265K, he should be able to go to a bank and refinance. He must only owe $150K, and say its worth $250K. A $180K refi in his name only is a 72% LTV loan and nets him the $25K to pay off his ex.

If the values are there, and he can't do this deal at a bank, there are other issues. In that case a private second might work out. It would be a $25K loan with a four year balloon secured against the property, with the understanding you foreclose if the payments aren't made or the balloon isn't paid off.

I wouldn't do it. I suspect the value isn't there. If a bank won't refi him under the apparent circumstances, there's more to this story than you know. Plus, a private loan to a homeowner has too much emotional baggage. When the deal goes belly up, he with fight you to keep the house.