Lis Pendens Question
Hello There-
In 1998 I filed and recorded a personal lien on a peice of property for $14,000-. This property is now in foreclosure. Rumor has it that the owner of the property has contacted a lender to help him out. Good for him.
The problem is....the foreclosure amount is only $8,100- payoff. My lien is not included in the amount. Why?
My question:
When I filed and recorded my lien at the courthouse....did I miss a step? I thought that what I did would create a "cloud on the title". Is what I did considered to be "filing a lis pendens" or is there yet another step to file my lien as a lis pendens? I want my lien paid off when the foreclosure is done or paid offf.
Will my lien stay with the property after foreclosure or the pay off?
Any advise would be appreciated. I was advised by the attorney to contact a different attorney. He said he could not represent me since he is representing the seller. He led me to believe that I missed a step in filing and that it could be remedied right away. I do not have much money right now to hire an attorney. What do I need to do?
A cloud on the title would be if you had equitable interest in the property and filed some type of agreement stating you have an interest in the property and it was recorded at the courthouse.
I'm not sure about a personal lien, but usually the only liens that will stay with a property after the foreclosure auction are property tax liens and IRS liens. Most junior liens are wiped out, like mechanic's liens. Most likely your lien will be wiped out unless your state allows it to stay with the property. You might want ask a lawyer what liens stay with a property after the foreclosure sale.
Tanya[ Edited by tanya1215 on Date 03/28/2004 ]
Whether your lein will stay on the property is a function of its place in the chain of title assuming it was properly filed. A lein is a claim that the owner of the property owes you money. By recording this claim against the title you are on public record. But the claim does not give you title. In order to do that you must file a foreclosure suit also known as perfecting the lein. When that suit comes to the sherrif's sale the buyer will be buying your position in the title. Leins recorded prior to yours, or having a superior position due to statute would still have claims. Leins recorded after yours are wiped out.
So the reason you claim is not showing in the foreclosure is that you did not file the foreclosure suit. If the party forclosing is senior to your claim you will be up the proverbial minor tributary without a means of conveyance.
Except that if the property sells at the sherifs sale for more than amount of the lien which foreclosed then the sherrif is supposed to send you your money out of the sale, along with paying off any other lein holders in order of priority and sending the balance, if any, to the title holder.
Mark
Oh, technically none of this is a Lis Pendens. A Lis Pendens is notice that a lawsuit has been filed which might affect the title. It has the effect of notifying other potential buyers that, if you were to prevail in that lawsuit you would have an equitable interest.