Protecting the 2nd Lienholder Position

[Nghi Le]

I'm looking to get private money lenders to loan the down payment for my hard money loans (to do flips), but I'm wondering if that puts them at a significant risk. I'd like to know how I can best protect my private lenders.

I know that if a foreclosure happens, the 1st can wipe out the 2nd. This makes me wonder what's the point of "securing" a loan with 2nd (or more) position on a property. But I know a hard money lender that has put their money into a deal as a 9th... so they must have thought they'd at least get their money back.

Also, is the foreclosure process the only way the 1st can take control of a property (in case the deal goes south)? If I just had a single private money lender on a 1st, how easy is it for them to go through that process to acquire the property?