Question
How to buy a condo if owner is underwater on the mortgage.?
I'm renting out a great condo unit that the owner is interested in selling. Problem: The owner paid $230K a few years ago and put 20% down. He currently owes about $178K Based on the market/area I feel that a fair price is around $160K I know he wants to get out of the condo because he is losing money every month and is worried about the value dropping further, but how can I work out a deal where I pay 160K and he gets another 18K to pay off his existing debt. I don't have 18K to loan to this guy, but maybe he can get a grant/loan/assistance from somewhere to get a short term loan? I am interested in closing by the end of November to try and get the buyer's credit money, but I don't want to overpay for my unit either. Any ideas or suggestions?
2 months ago - 3 answers
Best Answer
Chosen by Asker
well the owner has to come up with cash or ask their lender to forgive the short fall. this is a short sale." no grants are available. no way to close a short sale by 11/30. be patient. you can buy it for $150,000 in spring.
by David Z
2 months ago
Asker's Rating: 
Other Answers
SHORT SALE. Will be difficult to get it approved and done by deadline, so get moving on it NOW. Requires his lender to agree to take LESS than he owes them.
by chatsplas- 2 months ago
What he will have to do , and do quickly, is to ask the lien holder to take a short sale which means the lien holder comes up short on the sale. It has become more and more common these days for the lien holder to agree to a short sale because it cost them attorney fees to foreclose. The reason I say do it quickly is because the bank will send out an appraiser to get todays market value and then they will send out at least 2 BPO ( Broker Price Opinion) companies to get their opinion on value and this takes up quite a bit of time. If you have a contract signed by you and the seller for the transaction the bank may do this a little quicker.
by Terry Socia- 2 months ago