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Updated over 1 year ago on . Most recent reply
![Sean Dougherty's profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/social_user/user_avatar/167235/1694654066-avatar-seandougherty22.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/cover=128x128&v=2)
How or "if" to negotiate junior liens in a short sale.
Trying to wrap my head around this process.
I have a seller who has a home underwater. Selling via short sale. She is divorced an although husbands name is still in on title, she has court approved authority to sell home without his signature.
There were 2 junior liens attached to the home.
1) Child support liens of husband. We were able to successfully detach this lien from the house.
2) Lien from ex-husbands private loan ($20k). Is there a way to detach this lien from the home as well?
Should we attempt to detach that lien before we submit an offer to lender?
Or should we submit offer to lender and let them deal with the junior lien?
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![Minna Reid's profile image](https://bpimg.biggerpockets.com/no_overlay/uploads/social_user/user_avatar/1734/1733256128-avatar-minna.jpg?twic=v1/output=image/crop=1134x1134@0x238/cover=128x128&v=2)
Well first of all, just because a judge gave her authority to sell without him, the lender doesn't care about that, and in a short sale there is a very high possibility he will still have to cooperate with the short sale, provide documents etc.
This is why I generally stay away from angry ex on mortgage situations. He can prevent this sale if he wants to be a jerk.
Also - Unless you can get the 1st position lender to view the private loan as a second mortgage, the lender will most likely pay nothing to the junior - you will have to. Try anyway - but odds of success are low.
However -the junior will likely accept a short payoff for a lien release, especially if they can still pursue the ex for the rest. How much they will do it for is a mystery. I like to start with a $500 offer - see where it goes. Be prepared that as the buyer, this will be an out of pocket cost to you and cannot go into the purchase price. Also these negotiations are not between the 1st and the 2nd, they will be between you and the second.