transferring a Sheriff sale

[Fahima Hilal]

My client is in the process of buying a property from an owner.It turned out that the 'Owner' was actually a winning bidder at a sheriff sale. After agreeing on a prize to transfer the winning bid to my buyer, we found during title search, there are tax liens .The seller wants my client to split the lien with him (around 11k ) . I feel it is unfair as there was no mention of any liens or additional expenses while negotiating on price.

What is the liability of the seller if my client backs out? What else could be done to redeem this without additional expense to my client? 

[Chad U.]

@Fahima Hilal

Everything is a negotiation.  If the price makes sense after splitting the tax lien, then still go for it.  However if you do still follow through with the deal, I would highly advise hiring an experienced RE attorney, and not just rely on a title agent, to review the file to ensure it was foreclosed on properly.  Also do thorough checks with the municipalities and county for any other outstanding liens, open permits, violations, code infractions, etc.