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pinedo · Sep 24, 2011, 11:27 AM

I am buying a home as a short sale. When I went to sign the papers, they told me it had a lien on it.

How can the lien be removed the owners don't have any money and the guy called, and they said they would not remove the lien.

How can I get it off so I can buy this house?

Fr_Chuck · Sep 24, 2011, 11:38 AM

You can't, first what type of lien ? But that is the purpose of a lien, they want to be paid before they will release the lien.

So unless the seller or you pays them, the lien will remain, and you can not buy the home.

This should have been searched out before closing.

You will need to walk away and find another home.

CliffARobinson · Sep 24, 2011, 04:51 PM

Please give more detail.

1. Who told you there was a lien.

2. What kind of lien is it?

3. Are you using a Real Estate Agent?

4. Who is the "guy" that called the lien holder?

5. What papers were you signing?

There needs to be full disclosure, and a clear title search performed on the behalf of the bank you are using to purchase the property.

ScottGem · Sep 24, 2011, 05:08 PM

A lien is an encumbrance on a property that has to be satisfied before ownership can be transferred.

However, there is an order of preference to liens. If proceeds of the sale do not cover the liens, then it may be possible that this lienholder may be left out in the cold.

Do you have an attorney representing you in this sale? If not, you should.

CliffARobinson · Sep 24, 2011, 05:17 PM

I concur with ScottGem, as I had to go through similar issues when I purchased a home that was being foreclosed.

A lienholder in these circumstances is not 100% guaranteed payment. In my case, the previous owner had not one, but two mortgages attached to the property. The first bank got first dibs on the proceeds in the sale, while the others went along with whatever was left over in the process.

Because of all of the issues surrounding my purchase, I asked for a buyers Title Search Insurance Policy. The Title Search done normally in the process of buying a home protects the buyer's bank from future unseen issues, I purchased protection for myself because no one really knew what else the prior owner was doing with the property.

Like Scott said, you need a Real Estate Attorney, and I hope you are at a minimum, engaging the services of a competent Real Estate Agent.

My team consisted of my RE Agent, Mortgage Broker, Title Company, my own Inspector and private banker. Luckily, I didn't need an attorney.

Fr_Chuck · Sep 24, 2011, 06:33 PM

Correct on a foreclosure, but a short sale works very differently, in a short sale, the lenders must agree to accept less, they are not required to, So if the offer is less than the first loan, then a second loan will get nothing, and often those lien holders will not, since they get nothing,

In a foreclosure the second lien holders have not choice but must accept.

Also of course we don't know who has the other lien, a contractor perhaps, that filed a contractors lien, a EX who filed a lien for unpaid child support, and so on.
Each may be addressed differently,

But on a short sale, there is no way to force a second lien holder to accept.

Part of the reason I stopped buying short sales, beyond that it can take several months to get a bank to agree, only to find other problems

ScottGem · Sep 24, 2011, 06:51 PM

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

Also of course we don't know who has the other lien, a contractor perhaps, that filed a contractors lien, a EX who filed a lien for unpaid child support, and so on.
Each may be addressed differently,

Agreed, that's why its important to know what the lien is about. The fact that the OP referred to a guy who called leads me to think that it may not be a lender, which is why I thought there is a possibility they may be shut out.