All Forum Posts by: Heather Fugger

From the county recorder documents I located, it appears the mortgage was for $175k and initiated within the last two years.  The listing agent did tell us she thought the seller still owed at least $168k, which appears to be mathematically feasible.  Would the bank (PNC Bank) pay the overdue property taxes and then eventually foreclose?  The property taxes are now five months overdue and still unpaid.  

My understanding is that the seller had a stroke, and may not be lucid.  However, I did locate a potential daughter while searching online, but she has a very common name.

@John Slater, thank you so much for this!  I was led to believe she may not have any family, but I will look more into it.  Is there a service provider you can recommend for skip traces? I've never done that before...

@Wayne Brooks, thank you so much for the feedback and clarification. 

Since the county auction/sale is probable, I think I have to prepare for that option.  At least understanding the timeline will be helpful.  And it is a sleepy little town that I don't expect to be great for AirBnBs or even a house rental, so I am crossing my fingers that competing bidders will be in the low single digits.  

As I understand circumstances, her health is quite bad, and I am not sure she resides at her out of state address on file.  I suspect she is in a facility for care.  (At this point, I may just get a bunch of happy cards and send kind notes - no mention of the house - and send to her in an attempt to bring a smile to her face.  I am not sure she has any family remaining, but maybe mail will be forwarded to her.) 

I'm not sure if this is the correct category to post to - please let me know if I need to post elsewhere.

I found a house that I very much wish to purchase. However, the seller is an elderly woman with significant health issues who lives in another state and is non-responsive to her listing agent. I made several offers on the property, all going unanswered. The listing agent communicated she would take the listing off MLS if no response to communications was received, and the house currently displays as off market in any public real estate listings I can access.  The listing agent and my agent both suggested I wait for the house to go into foreclosure, as there are unpaid property taxes. Apparently the seller at some point indicated to her agent that she had no intention to pay those property taxes unless the house sold (and she would then pay from sale proceeds).  I understand there is an existing mortgage on the property as well, and have done research to find the details/document copies from the county recorder office.  

For Fairfield Co, SC, it seems that a tax delinquent sale would be the next step, if the property taxes remain unpaid.  Presumably, the property would be offered for a tax sale between August 31st and December 31st of this year (which also has a 12 month right of redemption for the current owner, so even if I did win the property I could not take possession for a year).  I am seeking advise on any alternatives to secure this property sooner rather than later.  The property has been vacant for over two years and will continue to deteriorate as time passes, which increases my costs to rehab. 

Please note that I do not wish to gain from this seller's situation nor take advantage in any way.  I am happy to make an offer of the last listing price.

Options I have considered are as follows, and I would appreciate any feedback (even telling me I am foolish, ill-informed, etc.) and/or new suggestions:

- Sending a kind card with a plea for the seller to consider selling to me yielded no responses.

- Paying the delinquent property taxes, which I believe would give me a tax lien on the property.  Pros/Cons on this option?

- Contacting the mortgage company to see who owns the mortgage note and inquiring if they would sell the note to me (not sure this is even possible due to mortgage regulations, etc.).

What other options, if any, can I explore?  

Thank you in advance for any feedback.