Judgement liens (Small Cliams) and their impact on a loan

[Gil Ganz]

Hi

I intend to purchase a performing loan in IN, after ordering a title search I saw that there are a couple of judgment liens (exact phrasing is Small Claims, Credit card judgment)  on the property (on the borrower name).  There are few things are that I'm curious about.

1 - Note is a seller finance note, and the date of the liens is 2-3 years before the note was created. How is possible? 

2 - if I understand correctly the mortgage should be superior to these liens. The House is worth 70k, current debt is 45 and total liens are 5. As far as I see even if the lien holders choose to pursue foreclosure I should still be able to get my share back (not to mention the fact that the borrower has enough equity in the house to perhaps fight it and not let the house go to auction). Is this logic correct?