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Ginga · Jan 23, 2006, 07:58 AM

My sister and her husband have filed for bankruptcy. They are losing their home
And land. Their land adjoins my property. The land has been in our family for many years, and I really need to save their property for that reason alone. I would like to buy the land but don't know how to go about doing this. I need to be able to buy it at the lowest possible price. There are three mortgages on the house and three acres. There is also seven acres in addition to the three acres. What is the process? Do I contact the mortgage companies? Do I wait until it goes to the Courthouse steps? Help!

Ginga · Jan 23, 2006, 08:04 AM

My sister and her husband have filed for bankruptcy. They are losing their home and land. Their land adjoins my property. The land has been in our family for many years, and I really need to save their property for that reason alone. I would like to buy the land but don't know how to go about doing this. I need to be able to buy it at the lowest possible price. There are three mortgages on the house and three acres. There is also seven acres in addition to the three acres. What is the process? Do I contact the mortgage companies? Do I wait until it goes to the Courthouse steps? Help!

Fr_Chuck · Jan 23, 2006, 08:22 AM

If you have the money or line of credit to pay for it, the very cheapest way to get it will be to wait till the bank sells it at auction and buy it, ( well it may and normally is the cheapest way) Almost never do they bring the full price of any liens or even near the appraised value. But you will have to already have cash in hand or line of credit on the day of the sale.

I am sure that all the lenders would love to have you buy out the mortages since the second and third lenders will most likely loss all of their money if it actually goes to auction.

I would have the attorney doing the bankruptcy contact them for you if that is what you want to do.

Ginga · Jan 23, 2006, 09:36 AM

Hi Fr Chuck,

Thank you so much for your reply. I just spoke with my sister and she has been informed by the bankruptcy attorney that the seven acres has already been turned over to one of their creditors. I am heartbroken over this news, but at least I won't have to worry further about the seven acres. It is gone! She also was told any property being sold on the Courthouse steps will have to be published in the local newspaper four weeks in advance of the sale. We know for a fact there has been no publication for her home and property, so I will continue to plan for that. Thank you again for your advice and caring. Ginga

Fr_Chuck · Jan 23, 2006, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Ginga

Hi Fr Chuck,

Thank you so much for your reply. I just spoke with my sister and she has been informed by the bankruptcy attorney that the seven acres has already been turned over to one of their creditors. I am heartbroken over this news, but at least I won't have to worry further about the seven acres. It is gone! She also was told any property being sold on the Courthouse steps will have to be published in the local newspaper four weeks in advance of the sale. We know for a fact there has been no publication for her home and property, so I will continue to plan for that. Thank you again for your advice and caring. Ginga

The one property that has been turned over to the creditors will be for sale I am sure, they merely took it, to sell it and try to get their money, so I would call them and see what they would sell it to me for.

As for the other property, now I don't know your area or that sale that day, but almost never are there more than three or four people there actually interested in buying property. Most are people looking for rental property and almost all of the homes go back to the first mortgage holder that bids the amount of the first mortgage ( they pay thierself the money so they are really not out any money expect for the sell fee and then they now own the property) So while I can't guarantee anything at a sale like this, but normally a bid over the current mortgage will sometimes get you the property.

Good luck.

I buy a lot of properties at tax sales, same idea but they sell for unpaid taxes, I have bought two properties in the past at bankruptcy sales.

Ginga · Jan 23, 2006, 02:58 PM

Thanks for all the good information. This site is wonderful. After talking with my sister today about the property having gone to one of the creditors, I decided to call the creditor, but haven't been able to speak to the person responsible. It is good to know, also, there might not be very many people at the Courthouse to buy auctioned properties. Also, I have contacted a real estate attorney for advice. Thanks so much everyone. Ginga

Bimmeraddict · Jan 29, 2006, 09:00 PM

I used to work in this area at a very large bank. What you want to do is contact the lender that has taken the property back and request there REO dept this is the dept that will prepare the property for resale and a lot of times you can work something out with them because the costs of marketing the property back to the public a lot of times will put them well into the red.
If you should want there other property that they are on presently or shall I say the property that hasn't been taken yet. You can call the lender and request there loss mitigation dept in hopes of getting the property before it goes to sale. When a property goes to sale the bank will demand a certain amount because of the fees and costs involved like a min. reserve. If its not met the bank will retain the property and it will be forwarded to there REO dept to market back to the public. The only thing that concerns me is the 2nd and 3rd mortgages will usually want something as well since they hold a vested interest however if the property goes to sale and there is only enough to cover the 1st the 2nd and 3rd mortgages loss everything. The only way they get paid is if the amount exceeds the 1st mortgages amount+fees and costs. IF there was no 2nd or 3rd you could apply for what is called a short sale of the property. This works only if you can get a broker in the area to value the property at lesser amount then what is owed. This is called getting a brokers opinion (BPO). You may want to tell your family members to also be aware any amount that is lost on the deal they can expect a 1099 from those lenders for UNCLE SAM... This will greatly affect there future tax return if they should have one coming... I hope this helps a little... take care

Ginga · Jan 30, 2006, 06:49 AM

Bimmeraddict, Thank you so very much! I now have a much clearer picture of the situation. I have contacted the company holding part of the property several times, but they haven't returned my calls. Now, because of your information I might sound a little more knowledgeable. Also, because you have given me the terminology, maybe I will be connected to the right person. I wasn't aware of the tax question and I will certainly pass along this information to my sister and her husband. It sounds as though I might have a better chance of recovering the acreage instead of the smaller parcel the house sits on. As I have said before, this land has been in my family for several generations and I will be thrilled to recover any part of it. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Ginga