Myself and another party are purchasing a home on land contract , and we just found our a lien may soon be placed on the property . The contract has already been through the court and we have paid the down payment and 4 months of the agreed monthly payments. The lien was not ineffect when contract was signed. My question is what do I do if this lien goes on? Also if the home is sheriffed sold because of lien are we entitled to the moneys we've paid. Or at least the down payment? The lien is in sellers name. Thank you.

It depends on the type of lien that's being placed on the property. If it is a judgment against the seller and not a mortgage foreclosure then they cannot force a sale of the property.

As for getting your money back if there was a forced sale, most likely you would be entitled to be paid first since your contract was recorded before the lien. But that's not definite without knowing more about the situation.

Tell us more about the type of lien and we can give you a better answer.

First where are you at, since a contact does not "go though the court" to be signed, unless the house is in bankruptcy perhaps.


Next, you do not normally own the home, but was the contact filed against the deed, showing your interest in it ?

But what type of debt makes a difference, if this is just a loan, and they have a judgement, and this is a lien, then it merely needs to be paid off prior to you completion of the contrat, but this may be a issue if the owner can not pay off this and any loan on house.

So are you suppose to get your down payment back, yes, but can you, if the person has no money, no, you can not ever take ownership of home, till lien paid off

It is also a matter of lien priority. If OP recorded their contract, it's possible that, if and when a lien is filed, it would not be effective against OP and OP's co-buyer.

It would be a good idea to consult an attorney in the jurisdiction to be sure.