I know in some short sales the second lien holder has accepted as little as $1500 to sign off. Of course the alternative in most cases is that if they foreclose they get nothing anyway.
What remains to be seen is whether the lenders voluntarily write down or if the govt insists they write down and extinguish the subordinate liens.
Once again our great congress has built in so much bs, you cant tell what really is going to happen.
Here is a best explaination and information I have seen yet.
HOPE for Homeowners - HUD