How to Check Liens on Auction Real Estate
If you're considering purchasing real estate from an auction, do your homework before you head out to the auction and place your bid. In addition to determining the estimated value of the property, check liens on auction real estate because these liens need to be satisfied before a clear title to the property can be given to you as the buyer.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Using the list of properties bring auctioned, mark the properties you're interested in. You'll check for liens on each one.
-
2
Access the public records for each property. Property liens are part of the public records for the county where the property is located. Most county clerk's offices provide access to the county records online through the county clerk's website. Otherwise, you can access the public lien records by visiting the county clerk's office in person.
-
-
3
Search for liens by property address. Conduct a search (either online or in person) for each property using its address. The record for the property shows any and all types of liens that have been recorded. This typically includes tax liens, mortgages, and contractor liens, to name a few.
-
4
Add the lien amounts together to determine the total outstanding balance of the liens for each property.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Some auction listings include the outstanding mortgage or lien balance as part of the auction listing information. In this case, conduct your own research anyway to verify that the information is correct and up-to-date.
Not all liens are recorded, so even if you conduct a search for outstanding liens, an unrecorded lien may not show in the public records.
Generally, when a property is bought at an auction, the county only issues a deed to the buyer when the property is free and clear of any liens. This does not mean, however, that future issues may not arise with title problems. It simply means that at the time the deed was transferred to your name there were no outstanding liens.
Some liens take precedence over others for order of payment. For example, a tax lien and mortgage lien always take precedence over a contractor lien.
