Category: Liens

Some states give certain liens a special status: super liens! Whoever records a super lien gets their money back first — they jump in front of the prior recorded liens on the property. Sometimes, homeowners’ associations have this super power. If so, they can override the famous “first in time, first in right” rule for liens.

Homeowners usually don’t think too much about lien priority. But mortgage companies do. And people who invest in mortgage notes, considering them first-priority liens, absolutely do. Lien priority is a factor they check before investing in debt in a given state.

Let’s take a look at liens, super liens, and how mortgage companies and mortgage investors react to them.  

Continue reading “It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Super Lien!”

Good Debt, Bad Debt…

Nowadays, people can be divided into three classes: the haves, the have-nots, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-haves.

– Earl Wilson

If you own a home, there’s probably a lien (or a few) on its title. A lien represents a debt that the homeowner has yet to pay. A mortgage creates a lien. There can be other ways, too, that “lienable” debt finds its way to a house title.

Here, we review the facts: what a lien is, the common types of liens, and the effects liens can have on your property.

Continue reading “Know the Facts About Liens”

For many buyers, the home shopping experience involves gazing wistfully at hardwood floors, kitchen countertops, new appliances, and the sunny views from the windows over the garden. As the purchase decision gets closer, the focus turns to the AC efficiency and the state of the roofing, electric outlets, vents, and ducts. Even then, an unknown lien on the title might be the furthest thing from a buyer’s mind.

Liens represent debts that must be resolved before the home can be sold. A mortgage lien, for example, represents a buyer’s obligation to repay the lender.

Before the title can be conveyed to a new owner, a title search will look back over the chain of title to find easements, covenants and restrictions in the records. If a preliminary title report comes back clean, it means nothing substantial was unearthed in the records. Typically, then, the buyer can then access financing, and the parties may proceed with the deal.

But what about unrecorded liens? No one likes surprises that could delay closing. Potentially even more problematic are liens that escape the title company’s attention entirely, only to be discovered after the new owner has lived in the home for some time.

To avert these problems, it helps to know the basics of unrecorded liens.

Continue reading “When You Least Expect It… What You Need Know About Unrecorded Real Estate Liens”