Dennis.
1. I sure hope you told your seller that you planned to assign that contract. Newbies are often shy about admitting that. (I once was, too.) Don't be timid. Say, "I've got people I partner with on these properties. One of them will be the ultimate buyer. Your contract with me gets a lot of things all ready for them."
2. It's common for previously unknown (or undisclosed) liens to show up. Happens all the time. That's why the title co runs "title reports"; it's part of why there is an "inspection period" as standard language in real estate purchase contracts, which is when the buyers do their "due diligence". And those liens are legitimate means for "walking away", because the situation didn't turn out to be what everyone thought it was. But don't walk away yet...
3. The title co should have already advised your buyer and seller that this old lien was found. No party has any right to be angry at you over that lien, and probably isn't. They will be, however, if you don't keep them informed about what's going on (or you can have the title co do it for you).
4. Don't give up on the deal. Your buyer might pay more to cover the lien, and you and your seller might each take a little less. Your seller can't walk away unless you're past your deadline AND they send a perform-or-else notice to the title co. If your buyer walks, so what? It sounds like you have a good deal there, so if he walks you can then re-market the property at the higher price that covers the 'new' lien. Or at your original 30k.
5. For the future - when you "get a really interested buyer" after having a place under contract for only "three days", do *NOT* lower your price!!! The time to lower your price is when you get zero interested buyers after a couple weeks. By then you should have some "best offers" piled up, and you can take one of those. I think your buyer would have paid the 30k, and he merely negotiated you down.
6. For the future - keep a clean mostly contingency-free contract, but DO make sure to specify as Buyer something like "[your LLC or your name] and/or Nominee". Ask the title co for their specific recommendation in your state. And make sure you include this in your contract: "Contingent on successful assignment of this contract to [Nominee / Assignee / whatever], and for expediency, assignment may occur without Seller's written consent." Those are your ways out.
7. Those ladies at the title co (and it's usually ladies) are almost always very helpful. I love 'em to death. Don't over-burden them with questions, but certainly ask about anything related to the escrow process. Purchase contracts are "escrow instructions", so it's literally their job to implement what's in your contract, or to tell you why they can't. Ask them. Listen to them. Learn from them.
If this is your first deal, you're on the right track. Don't be discouraged by hassles. There are always hassles. You'll just get better at preventing them, and dealing with those you can't prevent.
