Truth or Fiction? Impact of Lender Lien on Residence

searcher profile

January 14, 2025

by a searcher in Denver, CO, USA

I've been speaking with many top SBA lenders over the last 6 months, and even consulted an SBA bankruptcy attorney to find out the impact of a lender taking a lien on my primary residence to secure a loan. All of them said basically the same thing - that it's basically not optional (if you have more than 25% equity in your house) and while it's very very rare - they can take your house if the business were to fail. Ok. Made sense. Until today.

Today, a different SBA lender told me that when they put a lien on a house, that they have to take 2nd position to the mortgage lender on the home (if there is a mortgage). And that because they are in 2nd position, they can't force a liquidation of the house - that only the lender in the 1st position can (the mortgage lender) and that if you're paying your mortgage on time, that they would never do that. That also makes total sense and seems obvious in hindsight. So in reality, there is no 'teeth' behind this 2nd lien on a home. And if you also have a HELOC, then they are in THIRD position, with 2 banks in front of them that have zero-interest in making you liquidate your home.

So which is it?? If the second scenario is true, then perhaps the only downside of this 3rd lien (in my case) is that you need to have SBA-bank approval if you sell your house to move, etc. But that's certainly less of a concern than them deciding to sell my house. Maybe I misunderstood. Searchfunder! Help me make it make sense!!

0
1
23
Replies
1
commentor profile
Reply by a lender
from Eastern Illinois University in 900 E Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563, USA
Tony, great question. If there is a 2nd or 3rd lien on your home, if there is a default and the primary collateral in the business is not going to cover the loan or you do not have money to bring to the table to try and get the lien released (negotiate a settlement with the Bank and SBA), the Bank will foreclose on the 2nd or 3rd lien if there is equity in the home. The lender has to do that. The lender must liquidate all collateral before they can go to the SBA to get paid on their government guarantee. So whoever told you they will not liquidate either does not know how an SBA liquidation works or was not being honest with you.

It sounds like you have already gotten a lot of advice, but I would be happy to discuss this with you or anyone else who wants to understand how it works. Not only are we a Commercial Loan Brokerage shop with over 500 funding partners, but we also have a Bank consulting division where we provide a wide range of consulting services for banks and credit unions, including several Banks with large SBA lending divisions. Because of this we really understand how things work and what the Bank must do. You can reach me here or directly at redacted
Join the discussion