Can You Sell A Property With A Lien On It?

When selling a house, Lisa Buys Austin Houses helps Austin area residents resolve diverse types of financial complications. One of the most common complications to sell a property with a lien on it. In our call center, we receive inquiries asking, can you sell a property with a lien on it? We do not hesitate to take on these obstacles. Though selling a house with a lien is overwhelming, we provide insights to simplify the process. 

What is a Lien? 

Some customers approach us asking, what is a lien? The purpose of a lien is to secure repayment of an obligation. When you take a loan from a lender to pay for your house, the lender files a lien against your property with the county clerk. If you do not pay back the loan, the lender will seize the house. There are liens for many types of debt. There are liens for Medicaid, child support, repairs, HOA, tax, and more. In some instances, a creditor can file a lien against your home and not be required to inform you. First, find out if you have any liens attached to your house. 

Title Search 

The first step to sell a property with a lien on it, is to determine if there are liens on a property. Perform a search on the county clerk’s office website. Also, call the county clerk’s office to speak with a representative. To identify all types of liens that prevent the sale of a house, hire a title professional. Title professionals pull from records called a title resource database or title plant. A title plant is a specialized database of geographically indexed sets of records. 

Homestead 

Depending on the type of liens, you may qualify for a homestead exemption. In Austin, there are homestead laws to protect homeowners. Homestead laws prevent forced sales for the purpose of paying debts against the property. A homestead is defined as your primary residence. In many cases, you will be able to sell your property with a lien on it. The following cases may need to be resolved by a home buying agency like Lisa Buys Austin Houses before the sale of a house: 

• Purchase money 

• Taxes (both ad valorem and federal tax liens against both spouses) 
• HOA 
• Owelty of partition (divorce) 
• Home equity loans 
• Reverse mortgages 

• Liens predating the establishment of homestead 
• Refinance loans 

Partial Release of Lien 

Obviously, fill in the details from a client that you’ve helped in the past, this is just a sample to give you the idea… 

Last year, Lisa Buys Austin Houses helped the Smith family of Austin sell a property with a lien on it. Because of the homestead laws protecting their property, we negotiated for a partial release of lien. The liens still existed, and they still owed the debts, but the release allowed them to sell their property with liens on it. To initiate the partial release of lien, first make the request and send a notice to the creditor. Document or file the record that the notice has been sent. After 30 days, if the creditor has not notified you of a partial release of lien, it may be automatically recognized as a partial release of lien. 

Property is not Your Homestead 

If your house is not your homestead, how can you attain a partial release? Or how can a lien be partially lifted from your house to complete the sale? The key is negotiation. Lisa Buys Austin Houses offers unique solutions that another title company, home investors company, or attorney may not identify. Our in-house title processing professionals investigate and negotiate partial release of lien solutions on our customers’ behalf.  

Home Loan Liens 

Mortgage Liens 

To remedy a mortgage lien, the short sell of a home may be the fastest, easiest option. 

Home Equity Loans 

Only the senior mortgage holder has first lien. If there are two mortgages – a traditional mortgage and a home equity loan – the home equity is the junior lien holder. If the junior lien holder doesn’t release the lien, the house may go into foreclosure by the first lien holder. In this case, the second lien will be eliminated and is in creditor’s best interest to negotiate. 

Lisa Buys Austin Houses employs professional title negotiators to present an organized case with your HUD statement and other liens. For instance, if someone has a $44,000 mortgage loan on the property, and a $64,000 home equity judgement against the property. The creditor with the $44,000 mortgage understands they are a junior lien to the $64,000 judgement. Get the creditor to understand their best interests. A home investor company like us will negotiate and resolve many cases on your behalf. 

HOA Liens 

One of the toughest organizations to negotiate with, but we have the resources to possibly make this option available. 

Government Liens 

Property Tax Liens 

Tax loans are required to be paid before you can sell a property with a lien on it, but Lisa Buys Austin Houses has options to simplify this task. 

Weed Cutting Liens 

Like Tax Liens, these are required to be paid before the sale of a house.  

Child Support Liens  

In some cases, the person to whom the child support payments are owed will take partial payments and settlements. 

Medicaid Liens 

Medicaid applies to nursing homes and assisted living debt against property. If a loved one has passed away, Medicaid can hold a lien against the estate. When heirs sell the house, Medicaid will require that the proceeds to pay the debt. To sell a property with a lien on it, Lisa Buys Austin Houses will negotiate Medicaid cases for sellers. 

IRS Liens 

The IRS is not easy to negotiate with, but it’s possible. We had a customer who owed the U.S. government $2 million dollars against a home she was selling for $100,000. Husband committed Medicaid fraud, and he fled the country, and was a wanted felon. The wife, though found not guilty of fraud, was stuck with a $2 million dollar debt. After our negotiations, a partial release of lien was awarded and all the proceeds of the sale went to the debt. She did not receive profit from the sale, but escaped any further debt. Most creditors will take something over nothing. 

Takeaway 

Can you sell a property with a lien on it? Yes, it’s possible. We make selling simple. We have a suite of professional real estate services not available at any other home investors company. Some attorneys may be able resolve lien issues, but it will cost thousands of dollars and no guarantee of a solution. They don’t buy your house, in fact it may take months before the lien is resolved. We have the tools to help people with limited options. If you want to sell a house with a lien on it, consider us today.  

Contact us for a free, no-risk quote within 24 hours. 

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