Trustee Sale - IRS lien on previous owner

[Neha Wadhwani]

I am considering a property being auctioned at a Trustee sale in Texas. Current owner is a bank. However, I noticed that the previous owner has a $20k IRS lien on him. The IRS lien clearly states its a claim on all his property, but is not specifically attached to the subject property being auctioned. 

If I buy it, will I get title insurance? If Not, then do I have to go through a quitclaim process or negotiate/pay off the IRS lien to get the release? Which would be cheaper from an attorney costs perspective? Thanks in advance

[Mike Hartzog]

@Neha Wadhwani 

Assuming the loan the bank is foreclosing on is first position, junior liens will be wiped off of the title, including the IRS lien.  If there are taxes due on the property, these may or may not need to be paid at the foreclosure sale.  Before bidding at the sale I recommend getting a title report to confirm the position of the foreclosing lien.  Also, go to the county tax collector website and look up the taxes due on the property, and plan to pay these off either as part of your bid or afterward, depending on how the trustee sale is set up.