you mean like a 80/20 split?

It is possible to get 80% regular mortgage to avoid PMI and then get a 2nd lien to cover a portion of the down payment. Guess if they have really good credit and the appraisal was enough they could do the full amount if that is what they did.

"I was astounded at the closing to see my buyer had a second lien on the property (Texas)."

At least part of the reason went away with the detectability of PMI.

Before that change a second represented deductible interest instead of money waster on PMI.

The second lien holder is the one with all the risk now (and gets payed based on that).

I'd be surprised if it was an 80/20 in the current market. Not a lot of people are willing to do 100% financing at any interest rate. 80/15 is still relatively common with 5% down.

selling price: $95,500
Mortgage: $93,070
Second: $3,722

That looks more like a grant than a traditional HELOC.

There are many non-profit organizations that help borrowers in low-income areas or other areas where they are trying to stimulate home ownership, get into houses.

They sometimes give "grants" to eligible borrowers that are not repayable as long as the borrower does certain things, like occupy the property for 5 years.

Those grants are sometimes recorded as a second lien.

There are also state agencies that do the same thing.

So banks and others are lending money to qualified borrowers.