The Expert Podcast

…So how do you go about putting a lien on a person's property ? A lien against real estate. Or even a vehicle. Is a claim of debt against the person with that asset listed as a leverage or collateral for the lien. For example, the most common type of lien. That you probably have heard of is a mortgage Technically a mortgage is a lien on a property. But that's not what we're talking about here is it We're talking about you liening against a person for some damages, put your message below put some questions below let us know what your situation is for getting a lien. And we can address that directly. So. If you want to lien somebody property is probably because they owe you money. Or they've damaged you, or you feel like they owe you some type of compensation. Maybe there's a debt that this unpaid. Maybe you're a contractor that did work on the property and you want to get that. Money paid to you. Maybe there's some. loss that you've incurred because of another party And you want to get reimbursed for that loss. Well filing of a lien on a property. Requires. A third party. To allow you to do it. You can't unilaterally file a lien on a property. Without authorization because if you could, then anybody could just be slapping liens all over the place and people could put liens on your property without proper. Authorization and you wouldn't want that to happen…now remember we're not attorneys we're not giving you legal advice. If you have a serious case like this you want to get good legal advice from an attorney that can advise you properly You don't want to get legal advice from some guy on the internet. But since we work on cases like this a lot we can tell you what goes into this type of process But again get good legal advice from a qualified attorney that being said…One of two people need to sign off on the lien. One is the property owner. No Why would a property owner. Sign off to give you permission to lien their property Well, Sometimes. When you get a mortgage as an example, the property owner voluntarily gives you a lien. For the privilege of getting that mortgage money. Sometimes if you're a contractor, they voluntarily sign off on permission to give a lien If you don't pay them your contract. We'll be evidence of authorization to file a lien if they don't pay. On the contract. So you may already have signed authorization and not even know it. If you are a…Party to an agreement. That maybe the other person didn't fulfill or didn't pay in that agreement There might be authorization to file a lien…Already in existence If you do not have…authorization to file a lien. From the property owner…Now somebody else has to sign it because…The agency who files liens is the recorder of deeds or the clerk of recorder Every county does it different but there's some official government agent that files that lien in the land records against the property. That agent is not going to just take your word for it to follow lien. You need a want them to take your word for it Because if they took your word for it on your on their property, they could take anybody's word for it to file a lien on your property. So you want it to be a little more complicated than just a verbal whim of I want to put a lien on a property. Because then your property would be at risk too. So. Who else can sign it Well the most common. Authority to sign It is a judge. And you might think well I don't court judge that's complicated. Well maybe you're maybe not. If you have a valid claim against a person…a judgment or a debt. The court can just sign. An authorization of lien. And you put it on a property In fact, If you have a judgment from a court already. A lawsuit judgment litigation judgment. Child support judgment some other. Existing litigation existing court process. You may already have the paperwork You need to file a lien…In many counties a judgment against the person automatically becomes a lien on any property they own in the county. Bye bye statute. Again get legal advice to make sure that your…You have what you need in your particular scenario in your jurisdiction. If you don't have that type of court paperwork, you may have to go to court. To file a hearing. To request it a judge signs. That lien paper for you to file with the clerk…Are there other third parties that can file a lien Technically there is there are some government agencies like the EPA. I can file environmental liens. So regulatory bodies can lien property as part of the. Rules. And irregulatory procedures…But you want to look at what is the easiest third party. That's out there that can authorize you to follow that lien. And it depends on why you want the lien…Now once you get the lien what can you do with it…Well the lien file on the property doesn't magically automatically get you cash in your hand. If somebody owes you 30,000, they file it You file a lien. The minute you file the lien automatically You don't just magically get $30,000 dropped in your lap. that's not how it works. But what it does give you is some leverage to enforce your lien using that collateral. Some states and counties allow you to actually foreclose on your lien. Against the property. Which means you'd own the property. Some states don't allow that for people who's using it as a primary residence, they want to protect people's…Where they live. So they don't lose their roof over their head over. A civil debt. So you may not be able to do that, even if you can do it you have to remember if there was a first mortgage on that house which most houses have a mortgage. Then you're in second place. You don't get the first priority you can foreclose on it…But now the house has to get sold pay off the first mortgage pay off the fees and then whatever's left You get, may not be worth it…Where it comes into play. If the person wants to refinance or sell their house your liens on there they have to take care of it before they can transact that sale…What is the mechanics or the procedure filing lien Well lien normally is one or two pieces of paper. That is signed by you and by the judge. It's brought to the courthouse where…ownership records or property are kept usually the recorder of deeds clerk of court. Every county's a little bit different. And it's submitted to that clerk The clerk will. it. To make sure that first of all it's in a proper format done the right size paper It's typed up the right way. They'll also look to see if it's. functionally accurate Is that the right signatures on it Is it notarized Is it dated ? Does it have a proper legal description You can't just follow the lien. On a property that says how's the Joe owns. You have to have the legal description of that property. And a legal description you can find in the land records it's usually a two or three paragraph. Text of description of how that land is starting at this point going 200 feet this direction, turning 20 degrees south such and such. It'll give you. A very clear description of the land that is. Being enforced under that lien. It's not good enough to have an address 12 main street is not good enough to file a lien You have to have a full legal description…On that lien paper. And it has to be properly formatted properly authorized, submitted to the clerk. Once it's submitted they will put a stamp on it, received on this date and time. They'll put it in the deed book. Now it becomes an official document. It's a government record. And now you can use that recorded lien. To enforce. Your collection. Your recovery. From that person. And that's where…It can make a big difference for you recovering your money. Some states also allow you to recover the cost of filing the lien. Any court costs, filing fees. Sometimes liens also have statutory interest that you can collect. You know 1% a month whatever it is, some states don't allow that…You want to get good legal advice You may not need an attorney to do the whole thing but you probably want to get an attorney to at least advise you on what steps to take. You also want to do a good investigation to make sure that you're…aware of all the properties person owns just because they live at 12 main street they may own other properties, even in other counties. And that's important. Because if they own property in a different county than where your judgment is, that judgment may not automatically. Attach to those properties you may have to file a separate lien attachment. In those other properties. To make your lien valid against parcels. That are in a different jurisdiction…So…use your judgment. Your court order. Your debt. To your advantage. And attach it to a valid lien…so that you have the maximum probability. Of recovering your loss damage funds judgment whatever it is it's owed to you. From that third party. If they own real estate. That real estate isn't going anywhere You you can't hide it Like you can cryptocurrency you can't stash money in a bank account…Real estate is conspicuous in this immobile You can't move a property. You can't hide. parcel like you could hide If somebody had, let's say a piece of equipment you had a lien against it could hide it in a garage. You can't hide a house It is where it is in the land records are public records. Use that to your advantage. Property liens are valuable. And helps you get your money.