How do you find out if there is a lien on your property?

If you want to buy a new home but are worried about the lien, you have come to the right article. Just in case you don’t know, a lien gives another party a legal claim to the property when it is sold. Lien can prevent you from selling your property, and it is costly to resolve it.

Sure, you can think that you already have a lien on your property, but did you know that they can also be beneath your radar and come up when you don’t expect it.

You need to take care of it. But how to check if a lien is on your property? Here we will show you!

Contents

What is a lien?

Before we begin, let’s talk a bit more in-depth about lien. It is a legal notice attached to your property title because of unpaid debt.

As a result, you will have to pay them a certain amount. This means you cannot sell your property if the lien isn’t cleared.

property lien

How to check if a lien is on your property?

Lien are part of a public record, so it should be easy enough to find it on your property. You can trace it on other people’s property too.

It’s also easy as you can search for it by address with the county recorder, accessors office, or a clerk. The search is free, so you don’t have to worry about bearing the additional cost for it.

However, to access the report, you might have to pay some fees, and this varies by county. So here, you might have to spend a bit. However, rest assured it won’t be too much.

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If you want, you can hire a legal company that can do the hard work for you. Since it is a legal matter, you might not understand the jargon. There will be a charge, as you are hiring a service, but they will be doing what you would have done for the most part.

It’s safest to do your research yourself if you have an eye on the property. You don’t want something unpleasant to crop up a couple of years down the lane.

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What happens if you find a lien on your property?

Now that you know how to check if a lien is on your property, you can move on to the next step. This means knowing what to do if you have found one.

Remember, there is no need to panic. If the lien has been paid off, you just have to contact the appropriate party with proof in the form of a lien release.

However, if you have not paid it, you will have to sort it out before the home sale. Not to worry, it is easy enough to do.

Last thoughts

So, now you know how to check if the lien is on your property and what to do if you find it. The next step you should do is to hunt it down to prevent any unpleasant surprises from popping up.