Asking is not official, you need to get an attorney and move these folks out through the proper channels and move on take the loss - cut it earlier than later - 

Another point as to why a bank would be holding these nonperforming assets and not foreclosing is the risk exposure that is opened up to having an REO on the books, and therefore the official owner and needing to do keep up with property preservation.

I have also used @David Lilley approach to tell many lenders my credit score to see what they can quote and once I select the best 2-3 lender then I officially apply and let them run my credit score.

Its on a FAR BAR Contract provided by me.Also contract states in section IIPurchase Price: 160,000PaymentOther: Buyer to take over reminder of loan and payoff costs to close free and clear.Balance to close by cash, wire transfer or LOCAL DRAWN cashiers or official bank checks, subject to adjustments or prorations .......................

The only reason I can think of this has worked for me before is because Fannie is so slow on paperwork that after accepting the winning bid it takes forever to officially go under contract-- they are obligated to consider other offers in the meantime.

Derek, I began a year older than you, not my official beginning investing date, but started in the RE arena.At 18 I started a carpet company, ran it out of my garage of my house.

I anticipate receiving an offer for a structural engineering position but don't officially have one yet.

@Myles Bradley Getting a variance to change the zoning on a property from a 2 family to a 3 family dwelling is very difficult in my experience in CT across the board and on the occassion when I have gotten town/city officials to talk candidly about getting a variance they tell me from a sheer money and time standpoint the process would not be worth it even if the municipality will let you which most won't.Also, if you are risk averse your anxiety will only get worse once you have people living in a unit that is not legal.

I was going to purchase to flip than I started searching through official records and found out the previous owner walked away because costs were reaching $200K plus.  

@Jason Blasenak if you need a more "official" payment processor with invoices, etc you could try management software like Tokeet.