Lender Not Accepting Payment- Foreclosure Looming
Working with a seller who has a property he has inherited from his mother. He is on the deed, but not on the loan. He has been paying the mortgage, maybe partially, and it has been transferred multiple times, currently sitting with MidLand mortgage.
He has tried to reach out to them multiple times, we have tried to reach out to them with him and the title agent, but they are refusing to talk to him because is not on the loan, and not giving any info to the title company either.
How can we navigate this quickly and put a stop to the foreclosure process so we can figure out how to get this worked out?
Edit:
This property is in Alabama
Really his only option is to look to refinance and take a loan in his own name. Its common for lenders to do this, he's not on the loan and shouldn't have any access. I see it a lot when someone passes and the kids continue to pay the loan, lender doesn't care as long as they are getting paid, until something changes or goes wrong then the kids struggle to pay.
Assuming he is the executor of the estate there should be some ability for him to discuss things with the lender. He may need to provide the will, death certificate and/or documents from the court opening probate, but there is a way they can speak to the person who legally now represents the decedents estate. If you haven't already you may need to simply get in contact with a good local estate attorney who knows the relevant law/statute/case to quote or the specific person to ask for in order to get them to recognize your seller as someone who can discuss the account.
#1 All Forums Contributor
- Investor
- Virginia
@Jasmine Washington
If she has passed then he needs to contact them let them know that and send a copy of the death certificate and any probate or court order - then they can tak to him
Without it no they cannot talk to him but they should still be sending statements so he knows what is owed
It's interesting that the deceased owner went through the trouble of putting title in her son's name, but never contacted the lender to make sure he could speak to them on her behalf. This is easy to do, either verbally or with a formal loan authorization form. As @Matt Devincenzo and @Chris Seveney have mentioned, the lender will need verification that the owner has passed away (death certificate) and that a will exists naming her son as the executor/heir to the state.
Like Chris also mentioned, the son should still be receiving statements, and should also have his mother's SSN. With this info he could get the payoff statement online (most banks have online payoff request capability).
I've closed a lot of deals like this before (and lost many of them to the auction). There's always drama going on that the parties involved may not tell you about.
For example, last month I got a call from a guy in foreclosure and he wanted to sell. The loan was in his mother's name. He never went through probate and fraudulently signed a deed from his mother to him right after her death. He didn't think I'd figure it out, but it was pretty obvious from the signatures/dates. I sent the info off to my title company and they confirmed this so I told him he wouldn't be able to sell this house to anyone without clearing up title first (and going through formal probate).
After a certain period of non payment, the lender will not accept partial payments. This has nothing to do with who is making the payment. If you get the entire balance owed and send it in full, they will take it.
If the son is the heir, all he needs to do is send them death cert and docs showing he is the executor and they will speak with him, however that wont get them to accept a partial payment either.
You need to send all the back due funds, or sell or refinance this property ASAP.
