We went to small claims court and won. We were not paid so were told to file a lien against their house. We have not done so yet. We found out the house was sold. I just checked and the property is still in their name. We are going to file the lien tomorrow. If the new buyer has already had the title search done, will ever collect the lien?

Welcome to AMHD. You may collect if the lien is filed before the closing. How did you find out the property was sold?

I saw the house on trulia.com. It was sold on Feb. 3rd. If the title search has been done, is there anywhere I can search to find out who is buying the house, or the mortgage company? Since it was sold on Feb. 3rd, I am assuming the loan will be closing soon.

You (or someone on your behalf) could contact the owner/seller, and ask for the purchaser's name. The sale is not consummated until the closing, as far as I am aware. You may still have time to perfect your judgement lien.

I agree with George, If you saw a notice of a sale on Feb 3, its likely they already closed. In which case filing a lien will do not good. I would still file it, but what will happen is if the transfer date (the date of closing) is prior to your filing the lien will be rejected.

I will. Thanks. I hope it is not to late. We really need the money!

If its too late to file a lien, you might try finding an attaching their bank accounts.

How would I find out an account number? I don't have any social security numbers. At one point we were going to rent this house. After giving deposits, work, etc. we spent over $3000, then he wouldn't let us move in. I really want to get the money from this guy. We also paid rent effective on the 1st, and on the 8th it still was not ready to move in to. We were lied to consistently. He needed our money to move his father out of the house and into an apartment. Once he got our money to do that, he didn't care. We found this out after the fact.

You only need the bank, not the account number.

Would the courthouse handle this, since he never paid the judgment? He lives several hours away and I have no way of finding out any personal information.

You would file an attachment or garnishment (v. bank or employer) yourself, in the courthouse. You must know the law on this; the clerk will provide information, but not legal help.

See if the buyer has any information. You can also ask the court to require that he complete a financial statement.

Has the hosue already "closed" or it is merely has a contract

Thanks, I will. My husband is going to the courthouse tomorrow.
The house has not been transferred yet in to the new owners name. I just thought of something. Maybe I will call the listing agent and tell them that the new buyers may want to run another title search, that we filed a lien. First I want to make sure it is posted at the courthouse. If they haven't closed, I would think she would tell them. Then we will get the money at closing, or before. Not sure how that works.

He was not interested in any owner financing, so I am sure the buyer's are going through conventional means to buy it. It has been six weeks since sell date. Don't know if it has closed or not.

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Originally Posted by annreynolds

He was not interested in any owner financing, so I am sure the buyer's are going through conventional means to buy it. It has been six weeks since sell date. Don't know if it has closed or not.

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If its closed the buyer may have info on what bank the checks issued at closing were drawn.

That's true. I am sure they wouldn't want to deal with a lien on their property and would want it taken care of. Good idea.