Property Lien Search: How Do I Find Out if There Are Any Liens on a Property?

May 27, 2019

Buying a home requires a lot of time and energy, not only on the part of the buyer, but on the part of the seller as well. There is a lot that goes in to making sure a property is ready to be legally sold. These details can be overwhelming, and if you have never bought a home before, the details can be confusing and stressful. One of the most important things that needs to happen before a property can be sold is what is known as a title search. The title search will uncover many things about a property. One of the things it will uncover is if there are any liens on a property. A property with liens on it can have an effect on the legality of selling the home. Property liens can also affect the sale of the home in other ways. This means it is extremely important to find out if a home as any liens on it before the sale goes through.

What is a Property lien?In short, a lien is a notice that is recorded against your property indicating a creditor has made a claim that you owe them money. Liens are usually a matter of public record, typically filed with a county records office (for real property) or with a state agency, such as the secretary of state. In order to sell or refinance property, the title has to be clear, meaning free of any liens. A lien on your home or property means the title is not clear. Before you can do anything, you must satisfy the lien against it. By putting a lien on your home or property, creditors know they can eventually get their money. This is often done by contracting companies or other companies that do major work to your home or property. If you do not pay for the work, the company has the lien to fall back on.

While creditors do have the right to have real property sold to pay off their lien, most often through a foreclosure sale, this does not happen often. The exception is mortgage liens and tax liens. This is because your mortgage was recorded against the property before the liens and it will need to be paid off before any additional liens are paid. When the creditor forecloses on the lien, they have to keep up payments on the mortgage or lose the property. Rather than force a foreclosure sale, creditors often wait until the property is sold. Since buyers usually will not buy property without a clear title, the seller uses a portion of the purchase price of the property to satisfy any outstanding liens.


How Do I Find Out if a Property Has Outstanding Liens?Ideally, any seller will be up front about this before the sale process is started. In fact, any liens should be satisfied before the sale process begins. Unfortunately, there can be reasons where a lien may be on the property without the seller knowing about it. There may also be times when a seller isn't upfront about liens on the property. That is why it is important to have a property lien search, or title search, done. A title search will not only indicate if there are any liens on a property, it can uncover other information about the property that could have an impact on the sale of the property, even further down the line.

A property title search or title search is a process that involves searching for and retrieving documentation regarding the history of a property. The purpose of the title search is to make sure the seller of the property has the legal right to sell the property and that no one else has any claims against that property. The property title search can answer these three very important questions:

1. Does the seller have a saleable and marketable interest in the property?
2. Are there any restrictions regarding the use of the land? This might include easements, mineral rights, and other equitable servitudes.
3. Do any liens exist on the property that need to be paid off? Some examples of liens include mortgages, liens for back taxes, contactor liens (mechanic liens), and any assessments that could allow another party to claim a stake in the property.

A property title search or title search will need to be performed on any property that is being sold. Title searches are very important and should be undertaken by a party that understands what to look for. If you are closing on a home in Florida, Key Title & Escrow is the full-service real estate company you need to facilitate the home-buying process from start to finish. We handle it all, including extensive property title searches.


We have the experience you need for the most professional closings in the business. We have served the real estate industry for more than 21 years. During that time, we have built a solid reputation for the best, most efficient closings in the state of Florida. At Key Title & Escrow, we our primary goal is to provide our customers with a level of customer service that adheres to the highest set of standards. We can guarantee you that our professionalism, our reliability, and our commitment to our customers is what sets us apart from other real estate closing companies.

At Key Title & Escrow, we take pride in the fact that we are a big enough company to handle all of your real estate needs in one place, but we are small enough to provide our clients with the personal attention they deserve. We also offer our customers convenience by offering statewide closings and after-hours closings. This means we can provide the real estate services you need when it is most convenient for you.


At Key Title & Escrow, we have best interest of our customers at the center of everything we do. Our first priority is to provide you with the best real estate closings in Florida. Do not let buying a home be stressful. Let Key Title & Escrow handle all those details for you. To learn more about how we can make your closing the best experience possible, contact Key Title & Escrow today by calling locally at (305) 235-4571 or toll free at (800) 547-0006. We are your real estate closing experts.

If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comment section below. Also, feel free to share it by clicking the share buttons below. Want us to cover another topic related to title and escrow services? If so, then like us, follow us, and post to any of our social media profiles the topic you'd like us to discuss: Facebook Key Title & Escrow, and Twitter @KeyTitle_Escrow.