http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/Will_I_as_a_buyer_be_required_to_pay_any_liens_tax-66126Just for a little history, I bid on a bank owned home that was built in 1927 and asked for the bank, that is selling it, to pay closing costs. The bank won't look at my offer unless I pay for the lawyer to check for any liens. Shouldn't the bank, that took it from the owners, know about any liens? I am concerned that they either already know what is owed, or they are using me to get the info they need for this house. Seems to me it is in their best interest to find this out for themselves. The house is large and the asking price was half what the house is possibly worth all fixed up. But, the bathrooms are in disrepair, there are no kitchen appliances, no central heat or air, it has messed up floors and walls, and it has some unfinished projects on the exterior structure. Whole deal is starting to seem kind of fishy.en-ushttp://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_Hampshire-193012/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-New_Hampshire-193012/First i need to ask if it is listed through a realtor or are you trying to negotiate directly with the bank yourself. I can tell you what happens in most cases, but if you are trying to to it on your own, they may not be experienced or trying to pull one over on you. In most cases the foreclsoure auction is the tool used to clear the property and its deed of any liens. The bank would be responsible for back property taxes, HOA fees and any water or sewer fees. Any second or third mortgages are wiped out. The bank will then have to file a foreclosure deed within 30 days of teh auction taking ownership of the property. Then in most cases the bank assigns it to an assett manager however in small banks they may have an internal person who is trying handle it. The assett manager than will assign it to a local and approved broker to sell. Now when i list a property, the price is fo rthe house, the liens are taken care of in the price if any and paid at closing out of the banks proceeds in some cases. If you are paying cash you will want to hire an attorney to do a title search , if you are getting a mortgage they will require and set it up for you. you want to know the deed is clear or will be clear at closing. you also want to buy owners title insurance. i jhope this helps Mickey. please feel free to add any comments on here if yiou have anymore questions, good luck with working it outMon, 03 Nov 2008 13:29:29 -0800http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Charleston_SC-554274/http://www.trulia.com/voices/profile/Real_Estate_Pro-Charleston_SC-554274/Hi Mickey - When you are dealing with a bank, it is an entirely different ballgame. If you are getting a good deal, it is in your best interest to have a lawyer do the title work. The bank, most likely, does not want to put out any money unless they know the house is going to sell. You may want to do the title search yourself and t see if they will re-imburse at closing. This is called a Paid-Outside-Closing expense. This way the bank knows if you find something and back out, they did not lose any money. But defintely get the title search done before you buy. Hope this is helpful, Randall Sandin, 843-209-9667, rsandin@carolinaone.comMon, 03 Nov 2008 12:54:48 -0800