Recently, a Bay County, Florida man, Jonathan Pressley, won a rare outcome in court that could apply to others in the future.
In a subject-to arrangement, a buyer takes over existing mortgage payments on the seller's mortgage that remains in the seller's name.
In 2025, Pressley utilized a subject-to mortgage deal after months of trying to sell his house in Panama City, thinking "In a perfect world...I'm not going to be paying two different mortgages and everything will be all right."
What happened is that the company that bought his home - BG Ventures - took the deed to it but failed to make the agreed-upon payments. This left Pressley responsible for the mortgage on property he no longer controlled.
A foreclosure was imminent. A default for Pressley would mean his military security clearance and career would be jeopardized.
Pressley's lawyer sued BG Ventures for fraudulent inducement and failure to perform the contract. Pressley also had to challenge a second mortgage placed on the property the same day the deed transferred.
The defendants, the buyer and a private lender, filed no answers to the lawsuit, so a default judgment in favor of Pressley was entered. He then moved for summary judgment, the judge granted it, and the property was restored to Pressley, with the financial loss that he had to pay two mortgages for nearly a year to prevent foreclosure.
Of the 99 subject-to properties the News4JAX I-TEAM is tracking across Florida, 46 have already had foreclosure filings initiated by the original mortgage lenders.
Ti?any Salameh "Florida man wins back home in rare 'subject-to' mortgage case, offering hope and a warning to others" www.news4jax.com (Apr. 29, 2026).
Commentary
No matter how desperate to sell, a seller should never agree to a "subject-to" mortgage. Real estate professionals can represent their clients well by warning them of this pitfall as the process goes forward, in case there are lengthy delays in finding a suitable buyer.
A "subject to" transaction is not a loan assumption transaction. In a loan assumption, the buyer formally takes over the existing mortgage with the lender's approval. The buyer must qualify just as they would for any new mortgage.
Once approved, the original borrower is released, and the buyer is placed on the loan with the lender's full consent.
However, in a subject-to transaction, the buyer takes over the mortgage payments without going through the lender's underwriting or receiving formal approval - a riskier arrangement.
