Buying my first house but it has multiple liens on it. Help!

[Johnny Cabral]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post and a very general one at that. I do know there are many different ways of going about this issue. I'm looking for some information regarding removing liens from a property. This will be my first house that I purchase, so I'm not too familiar with the house buying process either.

The property is a up/down duplex that is paid off. This is also an off the market deal. The only people involved so far are the owner and I. However, there's a lien from unpaid taxes, water bills that Rhode Island housing were paying. The owner had a section 8 tenant. The owner also didn't file his personal income taxes since 2005 and owes the IRS money. So there's a lien for that too. After a few phone calls to several places, (City hall, Rhode Island housing, title company) it looks like he owes:

1. Rhode Island housing

2. The city of Providence

3. Federal - taxes

4. State - taxes

My questions are:

1. Where do I start?

2. Do I need a lawyer?

3. How much does this cost?

4. What other questions should I be asking the owner?

5. What other things should I look into?

I'll be buying this well below the value of the house, so I think all the footwork will be worth it in the end. The guy is very motivated to get rid of the house but doesn't really have a sense of direction. I promised him I'd take care of everything but I don't know what I'm doing either haha. I already got pre approved for the loan and had a general contractor come in and do an inspection of the house. Any feedback would be great! Thanks.