I got a call from the title company as I was hitting send/publish on yesterday's message.

Getting calls from them are not an unusual occurrence when I am a few days from a closing. There are dozens of details that need to be addressed in the final days to ensure the closing itself only takes long enough to sign a short stack of documents.

This call, however, was not what I was expecting. When Linda told me what she told me, I just about spit out my near-the-end-of-the-day energy drink.

You'll remember, we amended the deal to have the seller get $20,000 at closing and another $120,000 after I complete the renovation and sell the house .. all based on the seller's assumption that he owed about $140,000.

Well .....

... apparently, the seller hasn't made a mortgage payment since since November 2023. As a result, with all the interest, late fees and charges, he actually owes $169,778.67.

😲😲😲😲

Linda asked .. "What do you want to do now?"

Once I caught my breath, I pulled up the amendment from last week.

It reads, "... if the actual loan balance is more than stated herein, then Buyer' required cash payment shall be reduced accordingly."

So, technically, I could do nothing and just follow the terms of the agreement. Unfortunately, because the delta is more than the cash payment to the seller, if I did that it would mean that the seller would actually have to bring $9,000 to sell his property to me.

That would completely kill this deal, so I called the seller, but he didn't answer.

He returned my call this morning and was surprised when I told him what we had learned regarding the amount he owed.

In short, I suggested that I could continue with the $20,000 up front payment, if he agreed to reduce the amount owed on the back end by the $29,000 difference.

His initial reaction was one of frustration, but acknowledged that it was an acceptable solution to the problem we faced.

I messaged Linda and the rest of the team at the title company that we've agreed to a resolution and provided the necessary new addenda solidifying the new terms.

Never a dull moment with these deals.