Hi- I have been doing a lot of research and want to get involved in property investing. I found a SFR on auction.com that is appealing. They have a report from an attorney posted that shows about $1,000 in tax is "still due," and that shows an $18k lien from a home improvement company and a $228k lien from the lender. It also shows 4 small "judgements and liens." It looks like 3 of them are probably state tax liens (GDOR) and the county has a small lien.

I am intersted in bidding on this property, but am trying to understand what I would be responsible for.  I have read that, in some cases, the first lien supercedes the second lien, and the first lien wipes away the others (the home improvement one) when a property is foreclosed.  How would I understand if the $18k lien would need to be satisfied?

I assume I would have to satisfy the outstanding tax, and the 4 judgements from GDOR and the county.  What is the best route to make sure there are no other liens or obligations that this law firm might not have detected?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Hi- I have learned a little more in my research. This is an REO auction. So, the bank assumedly "bought" the property at a "real" auction because (1) it wasn't happy wtih the bid amount, or (2) it wanted to pursue the owners for the negative equity, and needed the property to sell at the fair market value.

That makes me think it is clear this is the primary lien. My research has shown that in Georgia, a real estate auction "wipes away" junior liens. I am trying to determine whether htat still applies in a case where the bank "buys" the property at auction and sells it as an REO.

By the way, I would plan to pay cash for house, which is required.

Thanks again if anyone has any thoughts or advice.

Taxes don’t get wiped out

Neither would a mechanics, I believe

Foreclosed first wipes out the rest

The law on liens that get wiped out at the foreclosure is the same no matter who buys it. More importantly, this is an REO sale, and they typically come with title insurance.....which means the bank will pay off any past due taxes and liens that survived the foreclosure auction. Check the advertisement for the sale.