Can you negotiate lower settlement amounts with lien holders?

[Ryan Catchings]

If I were to secure an agreement to purchase a property from a motivated seller but the seller has liens on their property, is it possible to negotiate reduced settlement amounts on the seller's behalf?

Also, would I be able to make the payout on behalf of the seller?

[Jerry Cloe]

Tax liens? Probably not. Everything else? Probably.

Any title company (assuming you go through one, and yes, you should) is going to insist on paying the lien from the sale proceeds, so any negotiation and payment would have to be done ahead of time. They don't care where the money comes from, they are more interested in getting it off their books than they are where the money came from.