Obligations under a unilateral contract cannot be assigned without consent, bilateral contracts may be assigned unless restricted, a real estate sale contract is a bilateral contract both parties agree to do something.

I am not saying this is a bad deal, just something to be aware of.Since all you stand to gain is what is owed on the 2nd lien, you should be buying at much less than what it's worth.

So my recommendation is introducing yourself as a third party for the owner.

You may desire to move out after a few years so it needs to make sense as a stand alone investment. 

Imagine coming into a room full of people/business professionals who are already having their own conversations and just stand up and start asking your question?  

The hard part is it a multivariable equation. unless you find 3 of the 4 vatiable.

If not, I give them a generic form letter that states we reviewed their case and still stand by our original assessment.

That is the IRS's decision but they generally do not stand in the way too much if they can not collect.  

Either way I use a third party service that the tenants pay for.

That is an off the chart increase but what the heck why not as supply for the most part is completely absent.