:you are talking about surplus after foreclosure sale. my experience : 1st mortgage was 2K. opening bid 2K. after a little bit of going back and forth with local investors I grabbed it for 35K on auction. so there is  surplus of $X after deducting cost of publishing, attorney costs etc. what happens next. the surplus is deposited with crook county treasurer and everybody who was a lien holder has a shot at it. who gets paid in which order ?...

The dollar figure is somewhere in the $700 to $600 billion mark according to recent reports issued by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for residential real property.Banks are not the largest holder of mortgages in the United States, have not been for some time.

I have the property under contract and it's a good deal (not a great deal) and the mortgage holder (old RE Agent) doesn't want to be paid off.

Can't the 1st mortgage holder foreclose on the property, take ownership…and cut me out completely?

Buying from private note holders you're looking at 20%+.  

If yes, is there any way we can get the process slowed with ensuring to the certificate holder that the money will come to pay him back?

My buyer has asked me how the mortgage company will respond and/or reconize the new buyers insurance policy as the note holders insurance is dropped.

The problem with the property manager is by the time that bill becomes delinquent enough for the city to send the property owner rather than the account holder notice it would be past the deadline to return the tenant's security deposit.

Servicers take collateral and sell it, such as with a deed in lieu if the note holder accepted or approved it, it could also have been a note purchase by the servicer. lots of options

Also, if it's in bankruptcy is the property going to be owned by the lien holders if it's not settled.I've been tracking a property adjacent to mine which has been in bankruptcy for 2+ years and will eventually go to the county for a tax sale.