Hey everyone,

I was recently driving for dollars with my wife and ran across a property with overgrown grass. I contacted the owner, which happens to be c/o of an estate for his wife. I told him that I was interested in buying his house and asked him what was owed on it. The house was purchased in 1986 by his deceased wife and he 'thinks' there may be $85k left on the loan..which to me seems super high being that the house is only worth about $100..so maybe they pulled equity out at some point?

Anyways, he has basically walked away from the property because he said he can't afford to refi. He hasn't made a payment since December 2014 and told me he was surprised that they hadn't foreclosed yet. He told me that he would talk to the bank and his step-daughters to see what they think he should do.

I spoke with him on the phone Tuesday evening. Would today be too early to give him a call back and see if he was able to find something out? I want to be patient, but I also know that persistence wins.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Andrew Weikel

Why dont you do a property search yourself and find out the status of loan, taxes etc ?

Hi Andrew, 

I don't know a lot about real estate (yet!!), but I do know persistence pays off! If this is an older gentleman, maybe just drop by his house if you're in the neighborhood (or not..), and see if he has had a chance to talk to the bank or step-daughter. If he seems like the kind of man that always has his phone, give him a call. What can it hurt? If he doesn't want to talk to you, he won't answer. Anyway, I hope it works out for you! 

Cheers! 

@Steven Picker

Is that something I would go to the court house for? I've called a few times to request owner information but haven't gone down to pull information. Would the treasurers office be the correct place to start?

you can start online with your county and work from there Also there are title companies that can do a search for you There is a service I used from a biggerpockets member that only charges $55 per report

http://www.easytitlesearch.com/customers.php

Good luck

Thanks for the advice, @Steven Picker . Unfortunately, easytitlesearch.com doesn't do title searches in Virginia. I will search around BP and see if I can find another service before heading out to the WWW. 

Also, being that he hasn't made a payment in over 6 months...what are his options? A call to the clerks office told me that the first mortgage was paid off in 2004, and in 2006 there was an assignment of deed for the amount of $91k...which I assume is a HELOC or similar.

So if the man is correct in thinking theres 85k left of the mortage, what would be the chances of me picking this thing up in the 40-60 range as him settling with them? Is that crazy talk?

if it is a small asset holder try giving them a call it is worth a shot see also  if you could call the probate lawyer first

Hi Andrew 

What part of Virginia are you in? You can have a realtor run a CMA for you then figure out if and how much it needs in repairs. If he has a good interest rate you may see if the mortgage company would allow you to take over the note with out making up the back payments... If the numbers work out it could be a good deal.

Hook luck and happy investing 

@Steven Picker - The county clerk told me it was through CITI...

@Troy Kannegieter - The house is in Dublin, VA 24084. Based on what it would rent for, I think the max I could put towards it would be about $60k..which would allow me to refi, pay lender back, and have "good numbers".

good luck keep us updated

If the property is worth $100k, the bank has No incentive to discount a $85k mtg, certainly not to $50-60k.