[mortgage] tax pro trying to understand mortgage underwriting

i have a guy with ~20k in federal tax liens from ~2014 and he’s looking to get a house (100k income, no other liabilities) and he’s super nervous about how the liens interact with his mortgage application.

my understanding is that:

– credit reports no longer show federal tax liabilities so this might not be a problem at all
– liens happened when he was in a different state from where he’s getting the mortgage, so the banks might not find them even if they look for local liens in public records
– even with 20k in liabilities the bank might still be like “lol idc about that lien, you’re making fat bank, still approved”
– if the AUS says “no mortgage, he has federal tax liens”, is it still possible for him to manuever around this because of his high income or is it like an irrevocable dead end that ruins his chacnes at getting a house?