What to Do if Your Home Has a Lien Against It

When you sell your home in Lakewood or Long Beach, a title company will look for problems with ownership - and if your home has a lien against it, it’ll pop up. It can derail your entire transaction, too.

So what should you do if your home has a lien against it?

What to Do if Your Home Has a Lien Against It

If your home has a lien against it, the first thing you need to do is determine if it really is yours. Sometimes an old lien pops up from the previous owners - and in that case, it’s not your responsibility to handle. (If you have owner’s title insurance, you may be covered.) In other cases, people with similar names incur liens and they’re recorded incorrectly under your name.

If the property lien really is yours, it’s up to you to resolve it as quickly as possible. The buyer’s lender isn’t going to finance a property with a lien on it, and you could end up knocking your whole transaction off the rails. You might want to pay it off, but you may have other options, too - in some cases, you can dispute it. However, know that your transaction will be on hold until you resolve the lien.

In a lot of cases, you can use the proceeds from the sale of your house to pay off the lien. The lien holder will let you know if that’s possible in your case.

Make sure you keep your real estate agent in the loop about what you plan to do. He or she will need to stay in communication with the buyers to hold the transaction together.

If the lien is complicated, you might want to get an attorney.

Are You Selling a Home in Lakewood or Long Beach?

If you’re selling a home in Lakewood or Long Beach, we can help. Call us at 562-882-1581 to find out how we’ll market your house to all the right buyers so you can sell it quickly and at the right price.