This is my first post so please bare with me.

[Joel Fraser]

My landlord has had a whirlwind of financial and family problems leading him to his first late mortgage payment on the property I have rented since he purchased it in Jan 07. He knows without a shadow of a doubt he can no longer pay the $3,500 mortgage payment and my $1,650/mo certainly isn't covering it. He purchased the property for $330,000 - mortgage payment was $2,200He refied to pay for family matters at $380,000 - mortgage payment is $3,500He and I have been trying to work out a solution for a couple months now and the best we've come up with is attempting a short sale to me. Fair market value on this property is no more than $320,000 and that's what I'd like to purchase it for.FYI - There is a property two houses down from me that was a bank owned property for three years. It's a nicer larger home than what I'm renting and it initially was listed for $499,999 and sold last month for $307,000. I have the entire MLS history on this property - would this help my case?I've been doing my research and am thankful I found this site.Here's what we've done so far:1.) Landlord has been in constant communication with his lender, Vanderbuilt. They are aware of his situation and they've tried to work out an arrangement over the phone but nothing has been done yet. After a year and a half last month was the first late, and looks like this month will not be paid either.2.) I've had two home improvement companies come to the house to submit estimates and what it would cost to bring the property up to market value - they were both over $40,000! I was told this was needed for when Vanderbuilt orders their BPO.3.) And still researching the next move - I don't want to screw this up.I would appreciate any recommendations. Thanks so much and please excuse this long winded message.