Researching Liens

[missmanors]

One of the most important things you should do before buying a property is whether there are any liens attached, because you could be responsible for paying off those liens.

What is a lien? It's a legal claim on a property, either by a lender or someone else that is owed money by the property owner. The priority of a lien is normally determined by the date that the lien was placed on that property, with the first mortgage normally getting first priority.

When buying a foreclosed property by auction, the auction usually clears out any "junior liens", but there could be exceptions such as tax liens which usually continue to be in effect after the auction.

To research liens on a property:


Check county records.
Contact the local property assessor to find out who is listed as the owner of the property. Check for Web sites of these agencies - you may be able to access tax records.
Hire a real estate attorney or title company. (You can save money by doing as much checking on your own as you feel comfortable doing.)

[JaredfromIndiana]

Good points but I would definitely hire a title company and title insurance when buying. They are the professionals that do this every day of the week, plus with title insurance if something comes up later it's on them, not you.

[missmanors]

Great point, Jared. It's nice to save money and do some things yourself, but if spending some money comes with a "guarantee" as you mentioned, then it's definitely worth the price to pay a professional.