BAY COUNTY, Fla. – After months of warnings from the News4JAX I-TEAM about risky “subject-to” mortgage deals, a Bay County homeowner has successfully reversed one in court — a rare outcome that attorneys say could offer a path forward for others in similar situations.
MORE: Inside the risky real estate deals leaving sellers on the hook | Private lenders say they lost thousands in ‘subject-to’ real estate deals tied to BG Ventures
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Jonathan Pressley said he turned to a subject-to deal in 2025 after struggling to sell his Panama City home for months. Under those arrangements, a buyer takes over payments, but the mortgage remains in the seller’s name.
“In a perfect world…I’m not going to be paying two different mortgages and everything will be all right,” Pressley said.
Instead, he said the company that bought his home, BG Ventures, took the deed but failed to make the agreed-upon payments, leaving him responsible for the mortgage on a property he no longer controlled.
With foreclosure looming, Pressley said the stakes were especially high. A default could have jeopardized his military security clearance and his career.
“I had to fight back and try to see if I could at least get my deed back,” he said.
Pressley hired attorney Josh James of Dunlap & Shipman, who said the case presented an unusual legal challenge.
“I knew immediately Jonathan was in a bad spot,” James said.
James filed a civil complaint alleging fraudulent inducement and failure to perform the contract. He also challenged a second mortgage placed on the property the same day the deed transferred.
A key turning point came when neither the buyer nor a private lender responded to the lawsuit. A court clerk entered a default, preventing them from disputing the claims.
James then moved for summary judgment, arguing the facts were undisputed and no trial was needed. A judge agreed, restoring the property to Pressley.
The outcome allowed Pressley to regain ownership of his home, though not without financial loss. He was paying two mortgages for nearly a year to prevent foreclosure.
“We ultimately won, but he’s not back in the shoes that he was before,” James said. “There’s still thousands of dollars that Jonathan is never going to get back.”
James called the case a clear warning about subject-to investment deals.
“If you’re in the stage where you’re in the process of selling your property and you receive an offer like the one that Jonathan received, I would recommend against doing a subject-to transaction,” James said. "I know it’s difficult, especially right now, it’s very much a buyer’s market. At least in Bay County, Panama City, where we are, I think the average house is sitting on the market for over a hundred days, and so it can be enticing to just get it done and quit having to make those mortgage payments, but there’s tremendous risk in selling their property subject-to the mortgage."
Pressley is now working to sell the home again and said he hopes his experience encourages others to seek help if they find themselves in similar situations.
“It does start to seem like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “But once you contact an attorney and get the ball rolling, you’ll start to see that there is a light.”
Attorneys say outcomes like this are not guaranteed, but the case highlights that homeowners may have legal options even after signing over a deed.
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.