I was talking to a friend who was looking at purchasing a piece of property. He was nervous because it was to be his first home and asked me about liens and doing a property lien search.
How Do I Find Out if there are Any Liens on a Property?
The answer is pretty straight forward. For the most part, liens are a matter of public record once recorded. To find if there are any liens, here are your options:
- Search the county recorder, clerk, or assessors office online. All you need is the name of the property owner, or it’s address. If your county does not have the data online, then:
- Visit the county recorder, clerk, or assessor’s office in person. Generally, you will find that these people will be quite helpful, and could give you pointers if you need any.
- Contact a title company. Title representatives can be extremely helpful in many ways . . . finding liens is one of them. I strongly advise having a good title rep as part of your investing team!
With that in mind, Title Insurance is there to protect you as the buyer from liens you did not expect such as last minute liens, or those that may not have been known or recorded. Like other insurance, they will write a check to deal with the liens if they are missed. If you want to protect yourself from any potential liens, you want to be sure to purchase an owner’s policy. It is an owner’s title policy, not a lender’s policy that protects the buyer of the property.
Keep in mind that you shouldn’t count on the word of the seller or even your real estate agent, as they may not necessarily know about all liens or possible defects in the title.
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Article Author: Joshua DorkinJoshua has written 568 articles for us.
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Joshua Dorkin (@jrdorkin, Google+) is the founder and CEO of BiggerPockets.Mr. Dorkin's vision for BiggerPockets has helped to propel it into becoming one of the top real estate destinations online. His vision for the site and its future has brought national press attention to both Mr. Dorkin and to BiggerPockets.
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I am in Chicago and there are excellent sites that I use all the time in analyzing a property to look for liens and even existing mortgages. Contact me if you want to know the sites I use plus a lot more.
Please let me know which sites you speak of in regarding liens. Thanks!
This site is good but I didnt want to bid without knowing if the property had liens on it or not. What site were you talking about
I would like to find out where I could reasearch property liens recorded or title status to see if there is or it isn’t a lien on a property.
Please send me those sites as well. I am very new to all of this and any advice would appreaciated.
I’m real new to this real estate research stuff. Could you send a link or address to those sites that tell about liens on properties. i sure could use some help.
Thanks,.
Bill
Bill – What exactly are you looking for?
please let me know what those sites are, i have been looking and cant find something reliable.
thank you.
Hello,
My question is if there is a lien on my property but that same lien is being garnished from my pay, can the lien be removed due to the garnishment?
If not what are the alternatives to have this lien removed?
My concerns are if my home was to sell will I be refunded back all that was taken from garnishment?
Can this company that placed the lien continue to add interest and other penalties while recieving the garnishment or increase the lien amount?
Your assistant would be of great help.
How can I find out if the borrower has paid down any of the liens (mortgage and HELOC)? The county records show the original amounts that were recorded, but I need to know if there is now enough equity to foreclose on the collateral.
RE: “I am in Chicago and there are excellent sites that I use all the time in analyzing a property to look for liens and even existing mortgages. Contact me if you want to know the sites I use plus a lot more.”
Ryan, would you let me what those site are? My family still lives in Chicago.
Thanks,
Jose
Hello all,
Cooks Assessor website as well as Cook Registry of Deeds website as well. However, the registry of deeds website is not free, so if you are not proffessional searcher, you will end up paying to check on lien documents [ad removed]
Good luck!
Alex
Yes but there is a lien on my property and it’s recorded in another county 4 states away and it doesn’t show up on my county records. How can I search for liens on my property applied by all the states?
I heard there was a data base where I could access that. Any help would be appreciated
Can you please help me to Search the county recorder, clerk, or assessors office online. I am not good with internet.
Or a direct to link to those websites will be appreciated.
Cheng – This link should be helpful: Real Estate Records
Assessor’s Records, County Recorders and Maps Nationwide
Ive searched the local assessors office site and found no information on liens or such on a property i am looking into purchasing at a forclosure auction at the end of Oct. Is there anyway to find out if there are any liens without having to pay for it. I would hate to pay and find out there arent any and thats why i cant find anything or pay the money and find out theres to much in leins making it not worth bidding on.
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