I would need to know the seller and the property to give a good suggestion but in one case one of my agents bought no money down, just a monthly payment to cover the down payment, plus there was existing financing to take subject to and the seller doing a wrap to cover the difference, and to make the agent happy we let him take the entire commission provided he took it as a junior lien payable monthly.

Do they understand the risks of being in second/junior position? 

This makes it where all first, second mortgage and other juniors have to agree to the deal or you do not tie up EM.If everyone doesn't agree then as a buyer you do not have anything.

An auction can be held for anything whereas a foreclosure generally wipes out everything except the first mortgage (AS LONG AS) you are not bidding on a junior lien that is foreclosing.What you need to do is look at the local foreclosure attorneys for the county you want to buy in.

You are a Junior if my memory servers me correctly, How many credits will you need to Graduate next year as a Senior?

What is the advantage (if any) to buying the junior debt at a discount with this strategy?

Many apartments are available, but juniors and seniors prefer to share houses. 

Junior Salters Hi Junior, and welcome to BP!

Junior Salters A short sale is when the lender accepts a payoff of less than is owned as payment in full.

You'd need to know the current loan payment for the senior lien and what terms the seller will accept for the junior lien.You'll need to see if the $288K loan is a decent loan with a fixed rate.