Hi guys, i have a small cash deal in the works from a motivated seller on a SFR in Detroit Michigan. They have a rehab lien on the property that requires repairs to be done in a certain timeframe to get the property up to code requirements by the city of Detroit. They cannot their warranty deed until these repairs are done. Im working on this deal out of state so not too familiar with this type of lien, anyone have experience with this? any advice how to navigate? can i work with a title co/closing attorney office to help navigate? Thanks in advance for any help!

This property might have been part of the Detroit land bank auction. If they purchased through that program they are required to bring the house up to living conditions within 6 months of purchase (9 months in certain circumstances).

I would look into that first to see if it is the case. If they do have that, I don’t know how you would be able to transfer ownership unless you were to work a deal out with the Detroit land bank.

Good luck!

A couple of different possibilities;
-Some deed restriction disallows deed transfer until the repairs are done and lien removed, probably not likely.
-A lien simply exist that can’t be removed until inspected. If so, you can simply buy the property subject to the lien. Fix it up, get the lien removed.
Obviously, talk to the dept/agency that has the lien.

@Apurva Sanghavi

It sounds like they bought property though the Land Bank auction. And as @Michael O. alluded to you would have to strike a deal with the Land Bank. They are notoriously hard to work with. 

If I were you I might just move along and find another deal.

@Michael O. Thanks a ton for this, you're correct it was a Land Bank deal, im reaching out to them to see if its even doable.   I really appreciate your input! Cheers!

@Wayne Brooks thanks for the help!

@Christopher M. Thanks, you may be right, my partner is flying in to see the house early next week, are you free to connect by chance? we're working on more deals in Detroit and would love to link up with some professionals in the market!